by Jodie Pierce
It was difficult to turn an already dead human. The Maker gave her most of his blood each night, yet she lay in the bed as still as a corpse. One day, as he was feeding her, he turned to reading books while pouring his bloody wrist into her mouth.
On that day, as he read, he felt strong hands grab his wrist. Lips pressed roughly to it with the burn vampires experience when another vampire feeds from them. Astonished, the Maker attempted to pull out of Caleesy’s grip. She was too strong for him, and she continued to suck the blood from his veins.
Finally, when the blood started to turn cold, a self-preserving feature from a vampire, Caleesy stopped feeding and sealed his wrist with a deadly kiss from her lips. She lay there, smiling up at him, and pushed his distracting book off the bed.
“Am I a vampire now, Damien?” she asked. He was briefly taken aback at her silky words.
“Yes, my child. You are,” he said, trying to sound composed.
“So, it was you who fed me that tasty syrup for several days while I was in darkness?” she asked.
“Yes, my dear. That darkness was the life I gave you. Now, you will forever be in darkness. You will only be welcomed into the world in the darkest of hours. The daylight will harm if not kill you. You must feed every night, as you fed from me, in order to sustain yourself. There are many things you must learn as a new vampire,” he informed her.
She sighed in defeat. She thought about all the things she was going to miss, which saddened her even more. How could he do this to me? Why did he do this to me?
“I do it because it is what I am—a monster if you will,” he sneered.
“So, I am now this monster? What if I refuse?” she asked.
“Then, you will die,” he smiled.
“I already did,” she choked.
“I was sent back here to train and educate you in the vampire ways. I’m not happy with the arrangement, as you are not happy with me right now. You will come around and eventually come to like me as your Maker,” he crossed his arms across his chest with a satisfactory grin.
Caleesy thought and thought, trying to conceal her ideas, so Damien wouldn’t know her plan. She would have to go along blindly, like a child for now. I hate that he had so much control over me, she thought before she could censor herself, again.
“Control is correct. Hate me if you like. I don’t care either way. This is what I am being forced to do,” he explained.
Again, she sighed in defeat as she got up to look at him. She folded her arms across her chest and tapped her toe on the ground.
“So, now what?” she asked.
* * * *
Over the next six months, the Maker taught Caleesy things she never imagined. She learned about spells, potions, how to fly, and invisibility, but the hardest one was feeding. He already explained that she needed to feed every day. He brought her victims that he started the bites for her, as she hadn’t yet figured out how to elongate her fangs. Finally, he had enough one day and locked her in a room with a beautiful, scared woman.
Caleesy thought how scared she had been in a new place and took pity on the woman. For two nights, Caleesy did not feed. She lay in her bed, sick and sweating. The woman put cold washrags on her forehead to cool her fever, just like a nurse would. She took pity on Caleesy and became her caretaker. On day three, the woman attempted to seduce Caleesy, in hopes of enticing her to feed. The woman slid her tongue up Caleesy’s neck and nibbled on her ear until Caleesy’s blood boiled in a good way.
Caleesy gathered all her strength and turned her on her back as Caleesy moved on top of her. Caleesy did the same thing the woman had done, except she came back down the woman’s neck after nibbling on her ear. Caleesy smelled a warm, sweet peach core smell at the curve of her neck and shoulder. Caleesy looked down and saw the pulsing vein in the side of the woman’s neck, and it was calling to her. Caleesy started kissing and gently licking the woman’s neck, when suddenly, her fangs elongated and nicked the side of her own tongue. The taste was sweet, and she could smell the woman’s blood pulsing and moving through her veins.
Finally, and with a quick motion, the Relege Queen pinned the woman down on the bed and roughly dug her teeth into the vein that called her. The sweet peach taste danced around on her tongue and made her feel slightly dizzy. Before she swooned, she let go of the woman, afraid of her reaction.
Instead of being freaked out, as Caleesy predicted, the woman laid Caleesy down on the bed on her back, placed another cold cloth on her head, sat down on the bed, and pulled Caleesy’s head over into her lap.
“Sleep, my child. I will be here again tomorrow evening for you,” the woman whispered into her ear.
Caleesy’s sleeping schedule adjusted quickly to swapping day for night and night for day. When she awoke, she lay with her eyes closed in hopes of hearing the woman before seeing her. The woman squeezed water into the basin and hummed quietly to herself. Caleesy opened her eyes ever so slightly and saw the naked woman washing herself so slowly, it seemed intimate. Caleesy closed her eyes, again. When the woman finished, she came over to the bed and sat down.
“It’s okay to watch me bathe, you know. I am yours, now,” the woman cooed to Caleesy. To her surprise, the woman’s cheeks were rosy and warm, her face full with life. Caleesy was pleased to see that the woman had not changed her attitude after the previous night’s escapade. The woman jumped onto the bed and took Caleesy’s head into her lap, like she had done only the night before.
“I am sorry you were taken from your life to bring me life each night. As I too am a prisoner, I do not know when we both shall be released; however, I can escape out the window to find you the human food you require,” Caleesy ended with almost a questioning look on her face.
The woman reached up and took her face in her hands. “What are you?” the woman asked in amazement.
Caleesy looked away. “I am a monster,” she said ashamed, without looking at the woman.
The woman sat up in bed to look at her. “Make me like you. I have no life to go back to after here. I can be with you forever and treat you like the Queen I know you are. Please?” the woman begged.
“I…I can’t,” Caleesy said, ashamed, and hung her head low.
“Why?” the woman said, disappointed.
“I haven’t been told how to take another’s life and change them into this.”
She ran her hands down the front of her body. The woman looked truly disappointed and almost crushed, Caleesy thought. “I’m very sorry. Please, let’s enjoy each other for however long we have to be in this place,” she asked of the woman.
The woman nodded her head without looking at Caleesy, but she saw the tears in her eyes.
“Please, don’t cry,” Caleesy tried to reassure her, but the woman sat back on the bed, just out of reach. Caleesy got up and found clothes in the dresser drawers across the room. Once she mentally catalogued their contents, she found an outfit for herself and got dressed.
“Where are you going?” the woman asked.
“I told you already. I’m going out to find you food. I cannot feed from you if you are sickly,” Caleesy said without looking at the woman.
“Thank you. Please, be careful. Who knows what eyes are watching,” the woman said with genuine concern. After Caleesy left, the woman wondered if Caleesy could escape through the window, why didn’t she just leave her there and go out on her own. She would have to ask her when she returned.
As Caleesy was out flying around and looking for a place to land and obtain food, she shook her head as she weighed her options. She could experiment with ways to change the woman but that was too dangerous. She only vaguely remembered her own transformation, so that was little help. She knew she wanted to be with this woman for she was a magnificent soul, kind and sexy.
After flying around and grabbing some food, she headed back to the house where the woman was waiting for her. When Caleesy entered the room from the window, she instantly felt the change in the air. She looked around for the
woman, but she was nowhere to be found. Out of the shadows came the all too familiar voice.
“Did you think I did not know what was going on with you two? I couldn’t have you enjoying yourself here. This was supposed to be a form of punishment and a lesson. How can I do that when you’ve taken a liking to your food?” the Maker sneered.
“I…I didn’t take a liking to her. I simply went to get her food, so she would be healthy when I fed off her.” Caleesy tried to cover the true emotions that screamed at her Maker from inside her head.
“Well, either way, the woman is mine now, and you will never see her again,” he said as he walked toward Caleesy.
“What do you mean?” she asked, fearing the answer.
“I have made her my vampire queen,” he smiled.
“You have changed her?” Caleesy screamed at him.
“Yes, but you two will never have a chance at what could have been between you, because you are weak. Like a little child. You’ve only just learned to feed. You are shameful, and I’m sorry I ever made you,” the Maker screamed back at her before he left the room and locked the door.
Locking the door is useless, as I can fly out the window. Did he already forget that, or was that his plan all along? Caleesy escaped out the window and down behind the shadow of a tree.
”You will never find her,” the Maker told her.
With the guards the Maker had around him, it was useless to think she could swoop in and take the woman away from him now. She had to develop another plan once she retreated to safety.
* * * *
The Queen
After years of searching, the Queen finally found Caleesy working at the Red Cross, and she realized the first time she saw her, how much she missed her. Would Caleesy remember her? The instant the Queen walked into the blood bank inventory room, Caleesy ran toward her and threw her arms around her.
“Where have you been all this time?” Caleesy asked.
“I tried looking for you after he sent you away, but since we didn’t have the bond he had with you, I couldn’t find you,” the Queen said sympathetically.
Caleesy looked sad and backed away from the Queen. “I tried looking for you too, but I was just a fledgling and had to figure things out on my own. He never taught me how to adapt on my own for fear of losing me,” Caleesy said with hurt in her voice.
“I’m so sorry, my child. Let me make it up to you. What can I do?”
“Well, I would like to be your Paramour, my Queen” Caleesy said and went down to one knee. The Queen giggled and pulled Caleesy up to meet her face to face.
“I would gladly make you my Paramour, but let us make an official deal, as I now own my own school and have more to lose,” the Queen said proudly.
“A school? You?” Caleesy laughed.
“Oh, my child. There’s much to catch up on. Let us go back to my school, and we can do just that,” the Queen suggested. Caleesy immediately left her duties, put her lab coat away, and followed the Queen in the air until they landed on the roof of Finavon Castle.
Caleesy followed the Queen blindly into the castle, where they had a magnificent night of catching up and the blood the Queen called wine. To Caleesy, the rich, red liquid inside the ornate goblets was delicious. Daylight came a little too quickly for the two women, and the Queen offered to share her coffin with Caleesy, who gladly accepted the offer. Any chance to be next to my Queen is wonderful. It’s been too long. In listening to Caleesy’s mind, the Queen smiled and led Caleesy to the basement where it was dark.
As the two women entered the dark cavern, the Queen lit the candelabras on the wall with a wave of her hand. The place was nothing more than extravagant to Caleesy. The two oversized chairs, both seats made from velvet, the ornately carpeted floors, candles everywhere, and the beautiful smell of peaches amazed Caleesy. There was a large coffin in the center of the room large enough for two people, with room to spare. Caleesy wondered how many people the Queen shared her coffin with. The Queen opened the lid, stepped in, and motioned for Caleesy to follow. The two women laid down inside of the purple velvet-lined coffin and lay there silently, looking at each other with a smile.
“I’m glad you found me,” Caleesy smiled.
The Queen smiled back at her. “I’m so sorry it took me so long, but I believe that fate brought us back into each other’s lives again for a reason. Now, sleep my child, and I shall see you at sundown,” the Queen ordered with a giant smile.
The two women fell asleep in one another’s arms.
* * * *
Tuwa
They sat legs crossed Indian-style, around the inside of the wigwam. None felt the bitter chill of the night on their cold, dead skin. Since fire could kill them, and they saw better than bats at night, there was no need for fire to be lit in the center of the council. They sat there speaking in their native tongue, oftentimes getting animated in the conversation. Tuwa sat in the middle, silent and deep in thought. They spoke of their loathing for the Queen and her escapades. The Queen he almost had in her last awakening. They interfered, and he lost her forever. He didn’t dare think she would give him a thought this time around, based on her current actions. They wanted her dead, but he just wanted her to love him, again.
He had to figure out a way to reunite with the Queen without bringing down the wrath of the entire council. Could he maybe get to her new Paramour? She was human, or so he guessed, and humans were so easily persuaded to do the bidding of a vampire. He would devise a plan where he was the lover of the human so as to get close to the Queen in her school. He’d have to start with getting a job at the Red Cross with Caleesy. Unfortunately for him, he knew nothing of Caleesy or her background. He assumed she would only be a human pawn he could move around and play with. He quickly snapped back to reality when he heard the rough voice of Keme.
“What are we going to do about her this decade?” came Luqui’s voice, filled with contempt. She hunted down the Queen over the centuries to keep the Senecas in the loop about what she was doing.
“We are going to do what we always do…watch her,” said eagle-eyed Huslu.
“We have to wait until she makes a move that goes against our rules,” said Qaletaei, Protector of the People and Shamian.
“Tell me again why we have to kill her? She’s been the guardian of the vampires forever,” said the friendly Koda.
“She has created atrocities within our vampire realm and must be punished by a consensus of the vampire council,” the tough Bidziil said.
“She’s just so beautiful–like me–that I’d hate to waste such good genes,” Oheo sniffled—the only woman allowed on the council and who spoke out of turn.
“Stop it, all of you! You all know what has to be done. Stop liking her, and let’s get back to business,” Keme scolded the council.
This is going to be harder than I thought, Tuwa mused.
* * * *
Caleesy
Counting and sorting bags of blood was sometimes too much for Caleesy. The urge to tear them open and start drinking was one she struggled with every day. That evening, her Supervisor brought in a new person to help her in her inventory duties. Caleesy immediately smelled that he was different, despite the tons of cologne he’d bathed in. She wasn’t sure what it was, but she knew he was not human. She would have to keep her eye on him until she figured him out; however, by the end of the day, Tuwa had her laughing and almost forgetting about her previous suspicions. He seemed nice enough, despite his smell. He was very personable and genuinely kind.
That evening, Caleesy went home thinking about Tuwa, trying to figure out what was different about him and his smell. Her attention was immediately diverted to the door just before the knock on it. She ran to the door, looked in the hall mirror, and decided she didn’t look too bad as she opened the door.
“Hello,” came a voice from around the corner.
“Hello?” Caleesy called. As he stepped around the corner, Caleesy was amazed. “Tuwa?”
“Yes.
I’m sorry to have bothered you so late,” he apologized. Caleesy looked at the clock. It was 1:00 a.m.
“It’s all right. I don’t sleep well at night. What’s up?” she asked innocently.
“Well…um…I was hoping you’d like to catch a bite to eat with me?” Tuwa said to the stunned Caleesy.
“Oh, I’m not sure if I can,” Caleesy answered, immediately thinking about her Queen.
“Why? Is there someone else?” he asked.
“No! Well…yes, but I don’t talk about it with others,” Caleesy fumbled for words.
“Oh,” Tuwa said, trying to sound disappointed.
“I’m sorry. I have to go. I’ll see you at work tomorrow, okay?” she asked.
“Okay,” he grumbled and left her apartment building. As she closed the door, she leaned back against it, wondering what just happened. Had she just been asked out on a date? With a human? Most humans were never so bold. So, what was with Tuwa? She could never go out with him. Although she only saw the Queen once a month, it would still feel like betrayal. Maybe she could talk to the Queen about it. She would have to see.
The next time they were alone, Caleesy decided it was time to come clean.
“Uh…Queen?” Caleesy started. “Can I talk to you about something?”
“Sure. Talk to me about anything, nothing. I don’t care,” she said, leaning forward and placing a kiss on Caleesy’s lips. After the kiss, Caleesy pulled away and sat up from the piles of pillows they shared on the ground.
“Well, there’s this new human at the blood bank,” Caleesy eased into the tale.
“Is he going to interfere with our blood supply?” the Queen asked, now sitting up herself.