by Lumi Laura
CHAPTER 37 Reckoning
As they walked through the grass in the backyard, Nălucă followed along after Mikhail, and once he saw the cat, he picked it up and carried it cuddled in his arms. Alex was pleased to see the work Mikhail, with a little help from Jaklin, had accomplished on the gazebo. He'd located much of its stone furniture.
"It wasn't easy, Missy," said Jaklin.
Mikhail had dug between the trees around the gazebo to locate the missing pieces. He'd stumbled upon the pentagonal tabletop mostly buried nearby, and while digging it up, located the large pedestal upon which it sat. He'd found two of the arched chairs submerged in soil just beyond the family graveyard and located one more in the tool shed. One had been in use as a surface for minor blacksmithing and the other in the coop as roosts for chickens. All this he had cleaned, dragged into the gazebo, and properly positioned. It brought the gazebo back to life, and Alex was thrilled beyond words, as was Catherine. They'd have to consider rebuilding the external structure.
"Setting up the stone furniture somehow seemed to activate it, Missy," said Mikhail. "We sensed something immediately, even in daytime, but the real change came at night."
"Missy?" said Catherine. "I've been meaning to ask about that. Missy was my mother's, Queen Marie's, endearment."
"I assumed it after reading her biography," said Alex. "At least it's what I asked these two to call me. I couldn't resist. Your daughter used to call me Missy at times."
Jaklin was still thinking about the gazebo. "It, or a portion of it, often glowed," she said. "Some heavenly light emanated."
As the sun set, Alex and Catherine walked beyond the gazebo to the family cemetery. The graveyard had an even more ancient history.
"Initially it was supposed to have been a Roman burial site," said Catherine. The most ancient marked grave was that of the Sibyl." She pointed to a tombstone in a remote part of the site that was now nothing more than a weather-beaten slab of granite. "Several nuns are also supposed to be buried here." She paused before an unmarked tombstone and shook her head. "This is my own grave, but was just to keep neighbors and local officials from inquiring into my disappearance. It's empty, of course," she added with a laugh. "Alu Kard has a long history with the site. He used to visit the Sibyl. But, and this was a source of both confusion and anger, he couldn't enter the gazebo. The divine would not tolerate his presence, and it made him bitter."
Alex showed Catherine her daughter's grave. Catherine knelt before the tombstone and said a prayer. Alex told her of her grandmother passing in her sleep, the most peaceful death imaginable. She told her that her grandmother had been the most loving person she'd known, and how they spent weeks together every year, how she'd guided her life, and provided a sense of true joy to all aspects of living. Then she left Catherine and Andra alone at the grave and walked back to the gazebo.
Alex, Jaklin and Mikhail sat quietly at the table holding hands across its rough stone surface, just being vampires together. Nălucă was cuddled up in Mikhail's lap. Alex saw the small tree that she'd planted the night Velinar bit her. It seemed to have never lost its leaves.
"I guess my tree made it through the winter cold."
"It didn't bear fruit last fall," said Jaklin.
"Why are we waiting here?" asked Mikhail.
"Catalin," said Alex.
Catherine returned shortly, a tear in her eye and little Andra sound asleep against her bosom. She joined them at the table, and they gave her a round of hugs. She looked at Alex. "I'm going to steal your baby," she said. "She reminds me so much of mine many years ago. She left this world as yours entered. Life is full of its little coincidences."
Alex forced a smile in response, but the thought of losing her baby sent a chill through her. She retrieved little Andra hiding her sense of panic and held her with a death grip.
Catherine was enthralled with the gazebo and had a little history to tell them. "It was originally built over a secret Roman temple to the goddess Diana," she said, spreading her arms and looking heavenward. "The original temple was destroyed after the fall of the Roman Empire and a home for the Sibyl built in its place by Christians about a thousand years ago. When an earthquake destroyed it, locals built a small chapel to the Virgin Mary to accompany the building of the Monastery, just down the road. It was never sanctioned by the Church, which had it destroyed out of the belief that it would promote the worship of Mary to the detriment of faith in Christ. When Queen Marie became pregnant with me, she knew a nun who had a vision of the temple rebuilt as a nonagon in the faith of the Baha'i. The Queen had it built with a home alongside it for me. The gazebo became a place of intense scrutiny when reports of visions at the site created suspicion. Although it never had electricity, several people saw the gazebo glow in the dark, and apparitions came and went within its luminescence."
"As have we," said Mikhail. "After we put the table and chairs back inside, it came to life."
They then quizzed Catherine concerning Alu and his feral vampires.
"I spent weeks imprisoned in a private chamber in the Cathedral and finally the Ichor Dome," she said, "while Alu tried to talk me into becoming feral. I resisted. He could have turned me feral without my permission, but that wasn't his way, or so he said. I feigned interest but was horrified. He told me that the Ichor Dome was just the incubation chamber and that he'd show me the final product if I'd let him 'extend' me, as he put it. I was planning my escape when I saw Alex at the entrance to the Ichor Dome. I followed her back to Xanadu where she went into labor."
"What is Xanadu?" asked Mikhail.
"You'll learn soon enough," said Alex. For the first time, she worried about their initiations. She realized that theirs would be different from hers, but she was still concerned about them and what sort of abuse they might suffer. She didn't feel inclined to discuss hers or to warn them. They'd just worry about the inevitable.
"Where did you spend all those years you were away from Sinaia?" asked Alex.
"Many places," Catherine said. "All over the world really, advising government officials on international law. Much of the time I spent with Alu who roamed from place to place mostly teaching but also turning people from time to time. I was surprised at how non-violent he was, never turning anyone who didn't wish to become one. He's highly discriminatory. Though I'd not wanted to be a vampire myself, I realized that they weren't the evil beings imagined by the civilian population. Of course, most of the phobia is caused by vampires' need to feed, and many abuse their physical and intellectual superiority, not to mention, their millennia of experience solving this problem.
"Which reminds me," said Michael, "Jaklin and I will have to feed soon. I'm noticing a compulsion to bite someone now."
"I want to get one thing straight," said Alex. "None of us will ever feed off Catherine. The need for blood is a problem solvable without resorting to those closest you. Tomorrow when I take you into the cavern to be initiated, we'll find an agreeable source."
The gazebo had grown dark, and Alex noticed something out the corner of her eye and turned to see someone standing in the shadows observing them. "I don't want to frighten you," she said. "But Catalin has joined us."
Mikhail was the only one who rose. When he did, Nălucă jumped down and went to stand before a tombstone in the graveyard and stare back at them. Jaklin was the only one to cower at the image of Catalin, who stepped forward to the edge of the table. Michael reached out to touch him, but his hand passed right through Catalin. "It's an apparition," he said. "Is this that being you encountered when you became a vampire?"
"Yes," Catalin said. "I was with Velinar when it happened. But be seated, young Mikhail Volsky. I have something to say. First of all, I'm surprised to see Catherine once again human. What a marvelous feat you've accomplished, Marie. A servant of God returned to the flock is always an occasion to rejoice."
"I've had my child too," said Alex. She took Andra from Catherine and walked to Catalin to show him.
"Your child you thought was
from the rape?"
"Yes." said Alex.
"This child's soul is different and of a purity that I've not seen. The rapist is not the father. I told you this once before."
"I've been told that she is a product of parthenogenesis."
But Catalin had already turned from her. "Now I must address all of you," he said, "for you have come together by virtue of Divine Will. I cannot tell and do not know the extent of your mission on Earth, for much is hidden from me as it is you. But the four of you, perhaps five, have fallen into one of the great rivers of existence, and that divine stream has swept you up and will carry you into dangerous and normally forbidden territory. You cannot escape it, nor will you want to. The only advice I can give is to be ever alert to evil and trust your intuition toward your actions as events unfold. Troubled times are ahead for the mortal world, but also for the divine. Have faith that the good forces of the Universe are on your side and will aid you in any way possible. But you must realize that a great gulf separates the divine and mortal worlds. You bridge that divide. Those of us in the Divine World don't relate well to yours. Not all our advice will make sense to you. Since you live in the natural world, your intuition will frequently be better than ours. I wish you well."
"What is this that's coming?" asked Mikhail.
"I can say no more," said Catalin. "You must leave now, for I have such little time and much to say to Marie alone."
Once they'd cleared the Gazebo, Catalin said to Alex, "Your soul has darkened. You've become partially evil."
"I had to live with vampires for a while," she answered. "Your Church was so hostile to me and my pregnancy that I couldn't trust it or anyone associated with it. Alu Kard offered sanctuary under the condition that I be initiated."
"So you've become evil."
"A certain amount of darkness is involved, but I witnessed no more evil than I have seen in your Church, which participates in evil on Earth all the time."
Catalin open his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Finally he said, "I'll have to tell Velinar of this."
"Run to mommy. Tattle-tale on the bad vampire."
"You are so insolent. I don't deserve that." He looked at the ground, obviously disappointed in her. "I see you're wearing your cross again."
"Father Zosimos returned it."
"I was told he would, or else. Him taking it from you created quite a stir in the Divine World." But then Catalin frowned and with a stern voice said, "I also see that your two companions are now vampires."
"I turned them," said Alex. "I turned Mikhail because if I hadn't he would have died. I had no time to make a calculated decision."
"Turning Mikhail Volsky, I can forgive. But Jaklin Dafovska is a different story, isn't she?"
"I turned her because she wanted to be turned. She begged me, and Mikhail and I couldn't live without her."
"Couldn't or didn't want to?"
"I questioned it too, but in the end, I weakened. I couldn't bear to be without her." She thought for a second. "You know, it was really more than that. She's committed herself to us being together and dealing with this feral vampire menace. If I hadn't turned her, another vampire could have made her feral. You have to realize the practicality of what I did."
"She could have made a different choice, said no, so I can't forgive turning her. You could have inoculated her. That act is a transgression that will stain your soul forever. What's done cannot be undone. That act was premeditated and has consequences that have already started to unfold."
"Like what? Am I being punished?"
"I wouldn't look at it as a punishment. It's the way existence works, the physics of the problem, you might say."
"That's a distinction without a difference. What is this to be? Some crippling deformity?"
"It's the child. I believe she has already found her new mother."
Alex was devastated. How could she not raise her own child? "You can't do this to me. You are a compassionate, divine being."
"As I said, I'm not doing this to you. You did it to yourself. I'm no more to blame than the cat who led you to Velinar."
"But how about divine love, forgiveness?"
"Even forgiveness wouldn't change the consequences. Again, it's the physics."
Alex felt her anger rise. Catalin seemed some agent of Satan come into the gazebo. "Then who controls this 'physics'? I want to speak to him. My predicament isn't acceptable. None of this was my doing. It was Velinar, and you. In failing her, you failed me."
He changed the subject. "I've noticed an unusual tree just outside the gazebo. There," he pointed. "What is its origin?"
"I don't know," she said. "After Velinar bit me, I collapsed there. Died, so I've been told. When I woke the next morning, I had a single seed in my mouth. I pushed it into the soil, and from it grew that tree."
"And a rare tree it is. a pomegranate, the most sacred of all trees, and judging from the shape of leaf, a variety that no longer exists on Earth. Only one other ever existed, and it in the Garden of Eden, the same source as your cross."
"You're sure of this?"
"Yes. Your cross is made from wood taken from the Tree of Life. That sapling sprung from the fruit of the Tree of Life. That being who visited while you were unconscious, did he feed it to you?"
"It would seem so, although everything that happened that night comes as a vague recollection. Alu said he tried to turn me but failed."
"You're different from other vampires. Your cross proves that. Alu certainly played a part because you needed blood, but one far beyond my knowledge resurrected you. Guard well the fruit of that tree. It's a divine gift."
"Yes, well, I'd prefer my own choice of gifts. Such a tree is of no use to me."
"I wouldn't be so sure of that. But you do have one additional gift. Although you can never go to Heaven, you will have contact with it. In your dreams, you've seen the Chateau. It's a place of refuge."
"Millennium Road is more interesting than that glowing little structure off in the distance. I want my other life back. I want to be able to go to Heaven."
"What's this Millennium Road?"
"Vampire psychic space. We go there every night when we dream. The Chateau is there, but off in the distance."
"Vampires are dead. Millennium Road?"
"We travel and suffer hardships along the way. We're headed somewhere, but I haven't learned where or why yet."
"Sounds like a pilgrimage. Surely vampires aren't headed to a holy site."
"All I can say is that I've seen a glowing pentagon off in the distance, and we're headed toward it."
Catalin looked puzzled. "The pentagon is a symbol for the use in the Divine World and was kept secret on Earth until Pythagoras discovered it for the ancient Greeks. Caused some consternation in Heaven. Even your Chateau is formed of twelve such surfaces. But I've been told nothing of this Millennium Road and see no significance to it."
"It's the common purpose that binds all vampires."
"Still, unimportant if it's for the Undead. As for your fate, events realign the fabric of the Divine World and also impact mortal psychic space. I'm sorry. That's just the way it is, not because I choose or decide it to be that way. I usually don't interfere in the lives of humans, but I've been assigned this task because I was present when it happened. My failures have had consequences as well, and now I've been given more than just overseeing the Carpathians. I'm your advisor."
"This problem was caused by the Divine World, and I'm tired of dealing with you, Catalin. Send someone with the authority to do something about it."
"Don't be flippant with me. I'm not some bank clerk arguing over a ledger. I'm a divine being, and we're arguing questions of immortality."
"And I'm a creature of the real world. I'm not being flippant. This business of mistakes and forgiveness goes both ways. Turning me was unforgivable. So I guess we're even. I'm beyond tired of being criticized and kept in the dark about my eternal existence here on Earth. I'm officially pissed of
f. I don't care what you think anymore. Next time, send someone with the authority to rectify this. I'm tired of your secrecy and forbidden knowledge. And by the way, Velinar had to bite Alucius Kardasian to become a vampire. It's an exchange of blood. She hasn't told you the truth about how she was turned."
"I... well... you... don't understand."
"I know the vampire world better than you know the Divine World. My situation is intolerable, and it's her fault. I have a child. Send the divine being who fed me the fruit from the Tree of Life. I want this reversed."
And then she turned her back to Catalin, walked out of the gazebo away from him and into the dark.