by Brian Carmen
Once she had completely removed the plastic lining she turned her attention back on Crystal. The young woman was easily in her mid-twenties but was blubbering like a kindergartner. Olivia grabbed the woman by the neck and sat both of them onto the couch. She turned and looked at Crystal as if she couldn’t figure out why the woman would be crying so much when she had only been seated.
“Quit crying; you’re not dead yet” Olivia smirked as she elbowed the girl slightly in the ribs causing her to sniffle.
Nia turned towards En the cat while she listened to what he had to say. It was only because of her ‘empath’ ability that she was able to understand him. The cat didn‘t say a word to her however they had a special connection and Nia was able to hear his mind. Others might have thought that she looked crazy however both Victor and Olivia had seen this many times. Nia had always treated En more like a person than an animal; that was why she was always willing to converse with him.
“I know you were right, we should’ve waited” Nia finally said while a scowl appeared on her face.
En responded by giving her a hiss while showing his teeth. En had been suspicious of the woman from the moment he’d seen her. He had also been the one that suggested they postponed Nia’s feeding until they were absolutely sure she was gone. Like Victor; Nia had believed that it would be okay however she had been wrong. Looking at Crystal she decided that they needed to address something that was very important.
“Give the phone to Olivia” Nia ordered; the small black woman didn’t wait and instead began reaching into the girl’s pocket for the phone.
“Please I don’t care if your vampires” Crystal began but was drown out by Olivia’s loud laugh.
The phone was now in Olivia’s hand and for a moment Nia had thought that she was laughing at the recording. The recording Crystal made was playing; however it hadn’t been responsible for making Olivia laugh. Nia rolled her eyes while Victor sat down in one of the lounge chairs.
For over a hundred and forty years whenever someone referred to their kind as vampires it was bound start something. She watched in silence while her six hundred year old maker went into a well-rehearsed rant. Olivia stood up and turned towards Crystal; Nia smirked since she knew that Olivia was about to put on a show. In all the years they knew each other; the older Volstir was never one to disappoint an audience.
“Honey vampires wouldn’t even begin to describe what we are. Our kind is much more than that” Olivia said with her usual air of superiority in her tone.
She always act like that whenever she was giving this speech. It was probably older than Nia; who must have heard it over a hundred times. While Olivia spoke to Crystal she began motioning certain things with her hands. She didn’t notice that Nia had stood behind her and was silently moving her lips in exact unison. The speech had been said so often that Nia now had it all memorized inside her head.
“If one were to see how little Helaina here spoke with En. They might assume that she was a witch when she’s not. There are others that may believe we are werewolves or even ghosts. In truth; we are all of these and more” Olivia continued while she turned and smacked Nia over the head.
This caused the younger woman to wince in pain even though Olivia hadn‘t used any of her real strength. Nia watched while Olivia continued giving her speech however she had stopped mocking her. She didn’t want to make the older Volstir angry since she’d just helped them out by capturing the girl. The only problem with Olivia’s speech was that it seemed to go on forever until she completely finished.
“We are Volstir, immortal, powerful, and almost always beautiful. You Homo sapiens got it wrong; there are no supernatural creatures. In the end there’s only us” Olivia finished while making a comment about a book she read that had involved an interspecies love triangle.
“I read that book too, the fourth one sucked but the half breed daughter they had was interesting. Although I was rooting for Jacob” Nia said with a laugh while Olivia turned and gave her both a surprised and disgusted look.
Nia’s comment obviously annoyed the other woman since she appeared slightly disgruntled. The look had stayed; even when Nia confessed that she had only been joking. Olivia had always hated vampire books because they always seemed to be completely different from the truth.
Olivia ignored Nia and turned back towards Crystal “Homo sapiens refer to us as vampires but in Europe and America we call ourselves Volstir. Victor if I was from Asia how would I describe myself?” Olivia asked quickly; Victor quickly stood up so he could give her his answer.
Nia did not want to be embarrassed if Victor answered incorrectly. Olivia would be upset and might end up acting unpredictably. She was thankful that after a moment’s hesitation and thought; that her newest progeny was able to answer the question.
“You would refer to yourself as Chi Kappa and Liluthu if you lived in the Middle East” Victor said quickly.
He was obviously nervous but was able to notice his robe was still opened. Victor closed his robe while trying not to look embarrassed himself. Nia couldn’t say anything but she was able to release a sigh. It seemed that victor had been paying attention to what she’d been trying to teach him over the years. Olivia nodded at Victor and turned her attention back towards Crystal. The poor girl was obviously still worried that they were going to kill her.
“Don’t worry; you won’t die tonight unless my little Helaina wants you dead. She has a very special gift that could save your life if you do exactly what she tells you” Olivia explained as she turned her back towards Crystal.
She walked over towards Nia and placed a hand onto her cheek. Nia didn’t particularly enjoy people using her full name. Only a few people had called her ‘Helaina’ in the last hundred years. She didn’t say anything about it because she knew Olivia would just ignore her. Nia felt Olivia’s hand on her cheek and smiled; she never wore rings or bracelets but her hand was still cold. It had been a long time since she had felt her maker’s hand. In a strange way; the touch comforted Nia.
“Take care of her Helaina; I need a drink” Olivia said with a smile as she waved good bye to Crystal.
Olivia turned her attention back towards Victor “I’ll be quizzing you after the Homo sapient is gone so be prepared lil’ Victor” Olivia explained while she walked out of the room.
Once Olivia was gone from the room; both Crystal and Victor looked at Nia for guidance. Nia didn’t say a word at first however she knew that she now held the crying girl’s life in her hand. Victor seemed worried about the upcoming quiz however he looked even more worried when he looked at Crystal. He looked at both of them while trying to figure out what Nia was going to do with her.
“You’re going to let her go right?” Victor finally asked before walking out of the room to go change. He didn’t even wait for an answer from Nia; who was now left in the room alone with Crystal.
“If you want to live and leave this place than you have to do exactly as I say” Nia explained while the young woman began nodding her head.
Nia looked into her eyes and told her to empty her mind. She instructed Crystal not resist what she was about to feel. Even if the girl did try to block what was happening; it was unlikely that she would succeed. Nia had years of practice and was quite adept at getting past mental blocks. Looking into Crystal’s eyes she began feeling the slight buzzing that always occurred when she used this part of her empath ability.
She found the memories and began taking them while having to force through the blocks that Crystal’s fears had put into place. Nia could see that Crystal was not a bad person and had many positive qualities about her. Perhaps in another life she would’ve been an ideal candidate to be turned. Nia however understood the rules and knew that Crystal would never agree to such a thing. Forty minutes later she watched as Crystal slowly began making her way back to her car. Nia had even helped her get a hold of her brother who would arrive in a little bit.
Sitting down on the couch she allowed herself a sig
h and a breath of relief. En appeared and began moving around so that she could pet him. Nia would have enjoyed his company but she knew that he had other things to do.
“Go make sure she stays safe and her brother helps her; I don’t want her staying around here longer than she needs to” Nia ordered as she watched En step out of the house.
Olivia and Victor joined her a moment later; Victor was now wearing a white dress shirt and a black pair of Calvin Klein jeans while Olivia started laughing out loud with a glass of blood stained wine. Nia took the clothes that Victor handed her and began to change. She didn’t have any shame with Victor and Olivia around since they had both seen her naked many times. She didn’t bother putting on a bra; instead she ended up wearing a dark pair of blue jeans and a white tank top.
“I’m glad she left; I couldn’t keep up that ‘I’m from a better species than you’ act for much longer” Olivia said in her normal joyful tone.
“That wasn’t very nice Olivia” Nia replied while Victor began pouring her the same type of wine. Olivia ignored her and continued laughing about the joke she played on Crystal.
“I could’ve handled the situation without you” Nia added somewhat sternly before taking a sip from her glass.
Olivia started to calm herself as she patted her hand on the couch for Victor to join her. She could see that Victor was somewhat confused with the change in personality. Nia had forgotten that Victor didn’t know Olivia very well. The only thing he knew about her was what Nia had told him. She had always told Victor that Olivia was nice and fun loving; the first impression she gave must have been completely different.
“Now I haven’t had that much fun with a human in over a decade. It’s fun when you have someone around that can erase their memory” Olivia casually remarked as she turned her attention towards Victor again.
“So tomorrow’s the night; how do you feel?” Olivia asked brightly as she moved a finger under Victor’s chin and began examining him more thoroughly.
He didn’t answer; instead he seemed more interested in the inspection. Nia could see that he felt extremely uncomfortable. She had warned him that Olivia would want to check him out. Despite her light personality; Olivia did have a tendency to be shallow. Nia hoped that Victor would be able to handle all of it until the time came for him to be turned.
“Once it’s done you know; there’s no going back” Olivia added with one eyebrow raised. “You either become a Volstir or you die. Sounds pretty simple right?”
Victor nodded his head slowly while opening his mouth to speak. Olivia had stopped inspecting his face but was now moving her hand under his shirt. She seemed impressed with his abs since she began giving Nia interesting looks. Victor didn’t say anything at first because Olivia seemed to be acting as though he were deaf, blind, and dumb. He remembered what he was going to say just as Olivia removed her hand from his chest.
“I’ve been with Nia for over fifteen years. I know that this is what I want” Victor said as Olivia clapped her hand and began shouting that it was a good answer.
“Olivia here is meant to act as a witness. She is going to ensure that you were not forced into becoming one of us and that it was done with your free will” Nia explained as Victor nodded in understanding.
“I’m also here to help kill you if you go mad” Olivia added casually. Victor’s eyes widened only slightly when Olivia mentioned that part.
“That’s why for the past three years; Helaina has been teaching you about our kind. You need to know our culture and even our language” Olivia said gleefully as Nia’s eyes began looking upwards.
“There’s a language?” Victor asked as Nia put her face into her hand.
She knew that she was about to hear it. It didn’t stop the hope that she would’ve been able to avoid it. Olivia was going to be mad that she had never even tried to teach Victor Volstiri. Nobody in this day and age ever used it. Only the older Volstir’s thought that it was still important.
“You didn’t teach him? It’s a part of our history; part of who we are as a species. You better have a damn good reason for wanting to turn him without having him learn our language” Olivia scolded while giving Nia a dirty look.
“Olivia it’s a dead language. Nobody uses it and I haven’t even needed to speak it in decades” Nia tried to explain with her hands up in the air.
“It’s just not needed” she added out loud knowing that Olivia was not going to accept such an answer.
She started another one of her famous rants as Nia tried to ignore her; Victor however listened intently. Nia had known Victor for a very long time. She guessed that if she had told him about the language he probably would have jumped at the chance to learn it. He wanted to be a Volstir so that he could be like her. Nia had often suspected that he really wanted to be with her forever.
Nia had known this and had often wondered if it would be a bad idea to turn him. Despite his feelings; she knew that they were not meant to be. Destiny’s grand design wasn’t for them and never would be. Nia could only hope that Victor would understand when they time came for her to explain. She didn’t think that it would be an easy talk to have with him; it would explain why his fantasy about them would never come true.
“Can we please just drop the subject and proceed with Victor’s test” Nia finally snapped as Olivia scowled at her for interrupting.
“Very well then but this talk isn’t finished. First question Victor; what type of humans must you not feed from unless you absolutely have no choice and why?” Olivia asked him while she rolled her eyes.
It was normally the job of the witness to test the progeny. They had to make sure that the maker hadn’t tried tricking the progeny. It was also the part that Olivia hated most about the job. She trusted Nia without a doubt and knew that she wouldn’t have forced Victor into becoming a Volstir. They both listened as Victor gave them his answer.
“Easy; Children who have not reach puberty because their too close to the beginning. Their blood will cause a Volstir to have an unquenchable thirst for more blood. The second would be the elderly because they are too close to the end. Drinking their blood will take your hunger away leaving you weak for many months. The final two are those that have received a penicillin shot recently and those that are anemic. Both can make you terribly sick and will only sustain you enough to stay alive” Victor explained while Olivia nodded.
“Very good; how long after you’re turned until you are no longer able to walk in the sunlight?” Olivia asked as she smiled at Nia.
Victor proved to be quite knowledgeable. He was able to answer this question just as quickly as the last. Olivia was obviously proud with the work Nia had put in teaching him.
“Anywhere between five to ten years. During that time the progeny still retains many human traits. It will take that amount of time for their body to adjust. The progeny will know when to stay out of the sun whenever the sun starts to cause pain” Victor answered causing both women clapped in approval.
Nia was glad that Victor was able to answer some of the most important questions. This knowledge was important since it could easily be the difference between life and death. She only hoped that Victor would be able to answer the rest of the questions with as much ease. Nia had faith in his knowledge however it didn’t prevent her from being nervous. Victor needed to answer the questions correctly if he wanted to be turned.
“How many new Volstir die within the first ten years and why?” Olivia asked as she looked at Nia and raised an eyebrow.
Victor began thinking about the numbers carefully in his head. It was clear that he wanted to make a good impression with Olivia. He had been told so much about her and wanted to give her proper reverence. This question however seemed to be giving him some trouble. Victor had always had some trouble when having to remember exact numbers. He looked at Nia as though hoping she would help him but it wouldn’t come. Nia had faith in Victor and knew that he would be able to give the right answer.
“Well there a
re estimated to be a hundred and fifty thousand Volstir worldwide. From that number; ten to twenty thousand Volstir are made each year. More than ¾ of them die within the first ten years after they’ve been turned with most of them dying by the hand of their makers.” Victor answered while repeating the numbers silently as though trying to confirm them before Olivia did it for him.
“That will do for that question. Very good Victor; I’m done asking questions and have full confidence that you will be fine once you’ve been turned. I can’t wait for you to come to one of our lost cities as a new member of our family” Olivia said joyfully.
Both Victor and Nia were happy to hear Olivia’s words. He hadn’t been able to provide a number but Olivia had seen that he knew what he was talking about. Now that the quiz was finished; he would learn about what was to come. Nia looked at Olivia and asked her to explain everything. She had always been better with telling others the smaller details.
“Tomorrow Helaina will mix both of your blood together and you will drink it. Then the two of you will have to sleep in the same room for about seven days. I will stay and watch over you both to ensure that no harm comes to you and will also act as witness for the turning” Olivia explained carefully while they all saw a bright smile appear over Victor’s face.
“During that time you will be dead. During that time you will be given your light. It‘s something that occurs for every Volstir during the turning” Olivia continued.
She said all of this out of habit since she had witnessed over two hundred turnings throughout the years. She always gave the same speech before witnessing the turning of a human. Olivia always took it upon herself to ensure that the human being turned understood what was going to happen. It was just something that she did because she didn’t want to leave anything to chance. It was a bit paranoid; however all Volstir were naturally paranoid. It was just something that came when they were turned.