by Dave Ferraro
Chapter Thirty-Three
“It was the time that is now known as 1895 BC,” Bast said, a small smile remaining on her face as she reminisced, her eyes far away. “I knew the woman who was to become the first vampire. Her name was, in fact, Diana, but she would later be known as the Mother of Vampires. She was nothing like the girl Emma, who was a scared little thing before she was changed. Diana was a strong, confident creature. And while women were typically meek and submissive during this time, she was not, and that’s how I noticed her. I took to watching her, as I was curious about this woman. Even then she had an aura of power, as if destiny had touched her and she would become something great, no matter the circumstances. I was drawn to her, and amused myself after thousands of years on this tedious world by watching her. What she demanded, she received. What she said was heard. And when she wanted nothing short of the world itself, people were ready to follow her to the ends of the Earth to see her accomplish her goals.”
Shanna listened in a trance-like state as Bast related the story. “There were always rumors of powers around the world, if any mortals should stumble across them. The treasures of El Dorado, the lamps of djinn, the riches of Atlantis, innumerable sources of remarkable powers beyond comprehension. But Diana knew that she could not accomplish everything she wanted to do in this lifetime unless she happened upon a power that would sustain her. And so she set her eyes on the most coveted treasure of all: The Fountain of Youth.
“And so, with her faithful followers and the husband who would give her everything, she journeyed far and wide in search of this fabled treasure. I was a part of this journey, in the form of an ant among their cargo, and was able to witness their trek across deserts, searching for clues to the whereabouts of the ever-elusive fountain. And it seemed like they would never find it. Reports contradicted one another, some claiming that the fountain was to be found surrounded by majestic forests, some in the middle of an oasis in the dessert, and others still claimed that it was found beyond a leap of faith at the edge of the world where a ship would need to travel past the point of no return. But Diana did not despair, she was so sure in her mission. Mind you that wives married young during this time, and it was four years later, when she turned nineteen, that she stumbled across the answer. Even though no one who could direct her with rumors had ever seen the fountain for themselves, she managed to determine that the fountain was never found in the same place. She also came to the conclusion, based on those accounts, that it only appeared once every ten years, and that the time was nearly at hand for its next appearance, and she was able to determine exactly where that would be.
“The island she journeyed to was in the Atlantic Ocean, and is no longer to be found on any map. It was a small island of dense jungle, the center of which was a dormant volcano. And while her followers set up camp at the base of the volcano, Diana continued on alone up the mountainside and down into the crater, confident that she would find what she sought within, and wishing to be the first to lay eyes upon it.
“It was inside this volcano that Diana found her fountain. It was not the gold-lined fountain with elaborate statues spewing water that you would imagine from a fountain that can grant such a gift as eternal life. It was little more than a trickle of water among the rocks. But Diana knew when she saw it, what she had found. And by moonlight, she stopped to drink from it. But before she could swallow a mouthful, a nearby bush burst into flames, and was consumed by fire. Then a voice spoke from the bush: ‘By drinking the water that issues forth from the River Styx that winds through the underworld, you will meet with the conditions that surround its power.’
“Diana, desperate to adhere to any rules for the prize that was so close to hers, agreed with what the bush said. ‘But what are the conditions?’ she inquired. The bush replied ‘My children and I will not be harmed by your kind. The fire that licks my branches may split your skin and reduce you to ash.’ Diana agreed to this. ‘Furthermore,’ the bush continued, ‘fear the carpenter, for my son will master carpentry when he walks this earth. Fear his saw that may sever your head from your body. Fear the wood that can puncture your heart, and never enter the structures built by the carpenter’s hands without express permission from within.’
“’This I can do,’ Diana answered, but the bush continued: ‘You will not go near my children who bear the symbol of my son’s death in remembrance of him. And to further protect my children, you will only be able to walk freely when the sun does not touch the earth at your feet, or die by its cleansing glare.’ Diana took longer to answer this time, but did agree to these terms, as well.
“’Finally,’ the bush said, ‘You will not eat from the earth as my children do, but will rely on them for your life so that you will preserve their race and not destroy it.’ ‘I rely on no one,’ Diana argued. When the bush said nothing more, Diana thought over its words, and when the fountain began to dry up, she scrambled for a handful of water, agreeing to the terms set forth in sheer desperation, before swallowing the filthy water.”
Shanna held her breath as Bast licked her lips to conclude her tale. “After drinking from the Fountain of Youth, Diana seemed to die on the spot. Her heart stopped beating, her breathing ceased, and she lay motionless for a full day and night. When she finally came to, under a full moon, she ventured back down to camp. Along the way, her breathing became more labored, despite the new sharpness to the world around her. I could hear her struggling for breath by the time she stumbled into camp, crying out for water. Her husband came to her immediately and forced water down her throat, but not only was her thirst left unsatisfied, her breaths were death gasps, desperate for air. But she seemed to recall her terms with the fire, or perhaps simply gave in to new instincts, and ripped the flesh from her husband’s neck with her teeth, and drank long and deep. Few of her followers remained when she left the island days later, and by the time she had set foot back on the mainland, she was the only one left alive. So to speak.”
“That’s an incredible story,” Damien murmured, shaking his head.
“It is a true story,” Bast told him. “Diana and I were friends for millennia before her untimely death. And while she did not recall our friendship in her second incarnation, I saw the same spark in her eyes and felt that my old friend had come back to me.”
“And in her eyes?” Randall the werewolf asked.
Bast glanced over at Shanna. “She is still human.”
“That can be changed.”
Shanna stiffened, as a low murmuring swept up through the room.
“She looks a little older than the founder of La Faer Noir,” Medusa noted in a cold voice.
“That Diana was younger,” Iyln, the fae beside her, agreed.
“But the original Diana was older,” Bast told them. “There is yet time.”
“I thought that I was safe here,” Shanna said, feeling Damien’s fingers sink into her thigh. “That we were only going to talk.”
“And we are talking,” Skree the harpy replied with a cackle.
“No one can harm you here,” Samantha assured her. “Don’t worry.”
“But we can hurt her once she leaves this room,” Raum said, with a nod. “Don’t worry, little girl. I hear the change is painless.”
“I say we let her decide,” the selkie stood up.
“Yes, please let me decide,” Shanna agreed, nodding.
Everyone in the room stopped talking at once and stared at her again, Randall and the vampire actually getting to their feet.
“You understood the selkie?” Iyln asked with a smile. “How interesting.”
“She has her gift,” Medusa observed. “The power of Babel.”
“Can you speak to me, girl?” the selkie asked of her, leaning forward.
Shanna glanced up at him hesitantly.
“I promise no harm will come to you,” he said, offering a smile that only furthered the movie star image he boasted.
“I can try,” Shanna said, realizing with little effort that, though her tongue felt strange as she spoke, that she had spoken in his language just by attempting to speak to him.
“Wonderful,” he sighed. “I haven’t heard anyone speak my language in years.” And Shanna noted a tear in one of his eyes.
“She could reinstate solidarity in La Faer Noir,” Aynaet said, tapping her lower lip thoughtfully. “We have lost our focus, our vision, over the years. Diana would return us to greatness.”
Raum scoffed. “You would give our power to a little girl?”
“She has power,” Lamia said. “Can’t you feel it?”
“I feel her fear.”
“And I feel yours,” Abaddon told him in a loud bellow.
Raum watched him for a moment. “I say we destroy her. She would wrest control from us if she is changed.”
“No,” Mary shook her transparent head. “Change is what we need.”
Everyone began talking at once so that Shanna found it hard to make out any one voice in all the noise. She looked to Damien, terrified by the scene, but he could only look back at her helplessly.
Suddenly the bush in the middle of the room shifted. Shanna almost forgot that it was there, but as it was directly in front of her, in the middle of the room, it was hard to miss the movement. She stared at it as black fire poured over its trunk and licked at its branches, then consumed it entirely.
“The black fire,” Lupe breathed.
“Interesting,” Tessa tilted her head.
“The girl will choose for herself,” the fire seemed to hiss. Shanna felt paralyzed as it spoke, and thought that she wasn’t the only one in the room with this reaction, but everyone and everything had come to a standstill.
And then it was as if it had never been on fire at all. It was suddenly the same dead bush as before, with no signs of having been burned, and no retreating smoke or leftover soot. The black fire was just simply gone, like the film had been cut away from the scene of a movie.
Bast stood up then and gazed around the room. “The black fire has spoken. That is the final word of this meeting.”
Damien let out a breath beside her and quickly stood up, ushering Shanna out of the room.
“What was that?” she asked as he led her down the dark hallway.
“The black fire,” he whispered back, and she noticed his hand shaking. “Let’s just get out of here.”
“What about Samantha and Tessa?” She tried to look back, but Damien kept a firm grip on her shoulder.
“They’ll be fine,” he assured her. “Probably going to be hospitable up until the end. Obligations and all that. Your part is done, so we’re leaving.”
They walked out into the front room, where Shanna was retrieving her cross dagger when someone cleared their throat behind her. “Yeah, couldn’t leave without that, could you?”
Shanna froze and felt Damien pause beside her as well. Then slowly, she turned around, squeezing her cross-dagger tightly, desperate for it to make her feel more powerful. “Cameron.”
Cameron smiled at her, like nothing was wrong. In fact, he looked at her like he expected that she would be happy to see him. Like this was a long-awaited reunion. “So, what do you think?” he asked, touching his cheek.
Shanna blinked at his smooth skin. His face was normal. The scar was gone. “Looks like you got your reward, after all.”
“Heh,” Cameron rubbed the back of his neck. “No. I failed, you know. They wouldn’t just give me a reward.”
She tried not to stare, and forced herself to look away, feelings of revulsion crawling up into her chest as she recalled the field where he’d pinned her down, ready to carry her kicking and screaming to the monsters. She swallowed hard. “Then…a glamour?”
“No,” he stepped forward, and Shanna flinched. He noted this, and nodded. “I understand how you feel, but everything’s okay now. I told you that you wouldn’t get hurt, right? And now…now we can be together.”
She slid behind Damien and grabbed his arm. “No, Cameron. We can not be together. Ever.”
Cameron scoffed. “Shanna, come on. You don’t…you don’t need him. Not anymore.” He smiled wide and fangs appeared in place of his incisors.
“You…” Shanna choked, almost gagging at the sight. Despite herself, tears sprung to her eyes. “You let…you’re a vampire.”
“Sure way to get fixed,” he said, nodding. “And you won’t believe the power, Shanna. When you-”
“She’s not changing,” Damien said forcefully.
Cameron blinked, his eyes moving from Damien to Shanna. “You mean they didn’t convince you? Shanna, it’s amazing. You couldn’t understand what it-”
“I don’t care!” Shanna said, her voice louder than she’d intended. “I hate you, Cameron! I never want to see you again!”
Cameron stared at her, eyes pleading. “But, Shanna…my face. It’s okay now. I’m…handsome again. I’m whole. I’m me.”
“No,” she said, her jaw tight. She shook her head as she pulled away from Damien and began to walk toward the door. “Ugly. Just…ugly.”