by Jamie Ott
Chapter 6
Starr didn’t know how to start in her approach to Credenza. For the last few months, and even the last couple days, Starr had a million questions for her, but even more, she always imagined that she’d be strong and defiant; that she’d tell Credenza to back off, and she’d be forced to respect her wishes, but seeing her in that way, with such powerful vampires at her side, she was silenced. It made her realize that she needed to better assess who this person was and how morally righteous or corrupt she was, before standing up for herself.
Vampires dropped dead as they passed them.
After it became apparent that Credenza intended to say nothing, Starr asked, “I thought we needed to talk?”
“I figured you needed a minute; you seemed surprised to see me.”
“Well, yeah, it’s a shock. The Fleet’s been looking for you, and then all of a sudden you show up and you’re fine. They thought you were dead, and who were those vampires in the sky?”
“They’re the last Primordial; the first vampires.”
“The first vampires? But I thought the first were like these species, here, crazed by the virus?”
“The first humans, bitten by vampires, couldn’t stand the infection; it was they who went crazy. Centuries went by, and humanity adapted, passing along an antibody along with the virus.”
At first, she didn’t’ get it, but after a moment, she asked, “You speak of the Primordial as if they’re not human?”
“The real vampires were an ancient race that’d begun to die out back during the Bronze Age. Later, what was left of them, were sometimes depicted in ancient Greece’s tragedies, but they mistook them for gods.”
“If they’re so superior, then why did they die out?”
“Every species goes extinct; it’s nature. Groups live and then they die, and especially if they run out of options for breeding, as nearly every primitive group, on this planet, has. Every culture, and every race and ethnicity, has, at one time, belonged to several others.”
“So the Primordial are not immortal?”
“Yes, they’re immortal, but some of them destroyed themselves because they were ready to die, and others ebbed away.”
“What do you mean by ebbed away.”
“Meaning they receded, slowly, from the physical world. As we, vampires, age, our bodies harden and our minds grow weary; eventually we slip into semiconsciousness, and finally unconsciousness.”
“How long does it take?”
“It takes millenniums to get to that point, but there are ways to prevent it from happening; one needs to stay active, and to stay involved, for that, one needs to desire life.”
“Why didn’t they just do that? Why didn’t they stay active?”
“As you’ve already surmised, in the past, living forever is like having the same nightmare over and over again. Life isn’t easy, and living it, repeatedly, is even harder. To quote you: ‘each time – each life - with the same painful punch lines.’ Nothing changes, not really.”
Starr remembered back to the contemplation she had of her closest friend, Marla, who was the softest vampire of them all. To live forever, you need to be hardened. With all the pain, and all the love lost, and this cycle repeated again and again, it was certain that some vampires would never make it to the point of ‘ebbing away,’ as Credenza said. The loss of feeling, caused by the virus, was a benefit to their survival, only it didn’t affect everyone the same.
“Are you a real vampire?”
“Half,” she answered.
She wanted to ask more questions, but they’d approached a large hill. Credenza signaled that they should jump, but Starr wasn’t strong enough to jump so high, and had to levitate.
When she landed, she said, “Well, tell me what it was that you intended to.”
She was relieved that Credenza invited her to speak, and wasted no time in saying, “I want to be left alone; I want to go to school, to see my friends, to have a normal life.”
“And you should have it.”
“I should?”
“I thought you’d be thrilled to join us. We are warriors. Once, a warrior was the pride and envy of nearly everyone born. Heroism meant riches, rewards, honor, respect, a grand marriage…”
Completely baffled, she asked, “What in the world would make you even think that I want to be a warrior? This is not the Middle Ages.”
After another moment of silence, she said, “I appreciate everything you’ve done for us, and, from here on out, you will not be bothered.”
She turned to walk off, and signaled Starr to follow.
“I’ve just one more question. What happened on the night you rescued me? Why did you leave me in that house, alone?”
She followed Credenza in the direction of a dark house that was up ahead.
“I healed you, and now you’re powerful. Now you can protect your kids.”
“I could always protect them. I never needed you, never,” she repeated. “You know that, so why?”
When Credenza said nothing, an alarm went off, inside her brain. It was a simple question, and there was no reason for her not to answer, unless she was hiding something.
As they got closer to the house, Credenza walked faster, making it hard for Starr to keep up.
“Why won’t you answer my question?”
She followed her inside the dark house. In the dusty, moldy living room, Lucenzo and Amir were pinned to the floor by invisible bonds.
“Why did you make us fight, if capturing them, yourself, would have been so easy?”
“Because I have better things to do. Besides, I’m trying to retire. I’ve been handling small matters, like these for centuries. I’m done, unless it is absolutely necessary that I participate.”
“You call a vampire apocalypse small matters?”
“Yes, small. If this is a war, it is the pettiest I’ve ever seen. We suffered way more casualties when the Mongols came to our city.”
“Enough chit chat! Let’s get this over with,” said Amir in a thick Ukranian accent.
“Oh, let’s not rush things,” Credenza mused. “Starr has something to ask.”
“Where’s Lily?”
“She’s gone. Don’t worry, she has enough antidote, and she knows how to remake it. As long as she follows my regimen, she’ll be fine.”
“But did she rejoin the kids from the clinic?”
“I don’t think so, sorry. She seemed to think that no one wanted her, there, and I thought it best she not tell me anything, in case we were caught, after she departed. No doubt, some would insist on her destruction.”
“The Primordials are getting impatient; they are calling me. We will go now.” said Credenza.
“Do we have to do this? Do you have to kill him?”
She wasn’t sure where her sudden compassion came from, but she knew that Lily would have wanted him spared. Starr was angry with Lucenzo, but she wasn’t sure that she wanted him dead, either, and especially after all they’d been through.
“Amir, yes; Lucenzo, no. His father is Vidar, one of the Primordials, and he’s ready to take him home.”
Starr looked at Lucenzo and it all made sense. There was always something pure about him, and about his scent: it was sweet and pleasant, unlike others who barely had any scent at all, after being turned – except in extreme cases. Several times, she’d mistaken that sweet air for attraction, but it was his natural animal pheromone.
“Where’s home?”
But Credenza was silent.
She won’t tell you, Lucenzo whispered into her mind. It is a hidden peak, in the north, that no one has seen in millenniums, since the shifting of the Earth.
“Funny, I thought you were turned after World War II, after you came to America.”
“I never said that. In the forties, I was posing as a human boy, at the academy where I met my friends; it was my first time away from home.”
“Are they safe? Nico, Kris, and your brother, Fernand?”
“Yes, they’re fine; they’re hiding.”
Finally, Credenza said, “Alright, we gotta go.”
“I won’t fight you, but you are not to kill Amir; he is to be spared. He only acted under my control. I forced him to do everything.”
“Fine,” she said. “We’ll let your father decide.”
And then, like an invisible hand held them, they floated through the air, behind them as they made their way back to the road.
As they walked back, Starr wondered how long it would take for them to burn up all the dead bodies and distribute their ashes?
When they got back, the ancient vampires stood on the road, with heads high, in a line with their hands behind their backs. Just like Emil, their skin gave off a hazy, glowing aura, only brighter, making her wonder if Emil was part Primordial as well.
The Black Fleet stood some feet away from them, in a semicircle, looking perplexed. On the ground, their assailants, from earlier, lay dead. Starr noticed they had no evidence of bodily harm, the Primordials, likely, told them to die, the way Credenza did just moments ago.
As they approached, Starr noticed how one particular vampire with blazing orange-red hair and the bluest eyes she’d ever seen, looked Credenza direct in the eye; they were communicating telepathically.
Briefly, his eyes averted to Starr’s, and, for a moment, she felt like she was under the burning ray of a laser.
Lucenzo and Amir floated toward them. Without a word, the Primordials ascended back into the air, and, just as they took off into the sky, Lucenzo whispered into Starr’s mind.
Whatever you do, don’t trust Credenza, she has plans for you, and they aren’t kind. I’d start with the Necro-Grimoire, if I were you. I’ll see you soon, and I hope that we can be friends, again.
Next, Credenza disappeared without a goodbye. She left so fast that Starr wasn’t sure if she walked away or flew.
Starr felt in her pocket to make sure the Necro-Grimoire was still there.
Good to Be Home