It’s difficult to tell where we’re going, everything looks the same, dull and dreary, and the corridors are convoluted. The catacombs remind me of Marion’s tower in that way, and I imagine it’s some scheme they’ve developed to make the floor plan confusing, should enemies somehow breach their defenses.
Before I know it, we’re outside another door, and Vincenzo slithers away, leaving me with one last wicked smile as he disappears into the shadows.
Before we go inside, Roland turns to me with a serious expression on his face. It’s the closest thing to fear I’ve seen cross his features, and coming from such a strong, masculine force, it does little to calm my nerves.
“When we enter, say nothing, Meridian. Do not even look at them, unless you are addressed directly. It is essential that you do exactly as I say. Very few humans have survived an encounter with the Elders.”
I nod my head in agreement, and it’s easy to do. I don’t want to say anything, I want to do as little as possible. And suddenly, my case of nerves transforms into abject terror. And I wonder what my Luminos brethren would think of what I’m about to do.
But before we can enter the room, I feel it, a kind of soupy energy hanging in the air. It’s not quite like the crackling vampire energy around my skull, or the light that surrounds me in my apartment when I meditate sometimes. This feels ominous, heavy and thick, though not completely evil. It just feels like raw power, and I almost wonder if the Elders have transcended any concepts of good or evil.
But whatever it is doesn’t feel natural, and I’m worried.
Roland knocks, but I don’t hear an answer, not verbally. And I get the slightest glimmer that they’re communicating with their minds.
Roland opens the door, and I do as he says. I look to the ground, but through the periphery of my vision, I can see the room that we’re entering. It’s just as I had pictured it, when an image flashed in my mind before. It’s simple, no flowing drapes or velvet furniture, no slaves dressed in gold, waiting to be devoured. It’s just a room with plain stone walls, and a floor that almost looks like it’s been carved from the ground. And just in front of them is a little sunken area that resembles a bowl, with glowing embers inside.
There are three Elders, as always; the bald one, the woman to his right, and the third man just a bit behind them, to the left. All three wear plain robes that almost look tattered, the ones I had seen before, and they sit on pillows on the ground. And though I’m not allowed to look at them directly, somehow I know the bald one is flashing his jagged grin my way.
But the energy I detected outside is even stronger in here, so powerful that I feel like it’s crushing me, like a bug. It feels like it’s pressing down on me, and I struggle to stand within it, forcing my knees not to buckle. It takes all of my strength of will not to run away, and I probably would, if it didn’t mean Vincenzo might be given permission to lock me in the box.
“I’ve brought her,” Roland finally says.
And I panic. Was that his instruction all along? To bring me here?
“Well, let us look at her, then.”
The bald one stands, and comes near me. And I’m not sure if he walks or floats. My body is physically trembling. I don’t want to look up, but soon, he’s right in front of me, and I can feel his hot breath on my face.
I glance at him for a moment, and the sight isn’t quite as horrific as I had imagined, at least not at first. He’s just a bald man with slightly grey skin, someone you would think was sick if you saw them. But his eyes are a strange color, a very light shade of brown that’s almost yellow, like a cat’s. And when he smiles, I resist the urge to shudder, when I see those teeth again. They’re yellow, dark in places, and some of them are missing. But the ones that remain are frightening, all sharp in the front, giving him what looks like a mouth full of fangs.
My eyes dart away. I can’t look at him any more.
“Saga … pretty Saga. Oh, but that’s not what they call you now, is it? Tell me your name once again.”
“Meridian … that’s who I am this time around,” I say, barely able to get the words out.
“Very pretty, also,” he says. “You’ve finally returned to us in a form these stupid animals haven’t managed to destroy. Well played, my dear.”
The elder vampire’s words are a low hiss, and his voice sounds horse. I get the impression that he rarely speaks, that he’s only doing so now for my benefit. But his words aren’t those of an ordinary man, and there’s a power to them that compels you to listen, whether you want to or not.
“Let me take a closer look at you,” he says with delight, seemingly to sense my discomfort.
I keep my eyes closed and cringe, as he puts a finger on my chin and lifts it, examining me. And I can hear him sniffing the air around me, the same way the old vampire Nicodemus did, which is all the more repulsive, considering I’m not wearing perfume. He presses his face closer, smelling the curls of my hair.
And for some reason, Adam springs to my mind. I miss him terribly, and I wonder if he would ever subject me to such torture. I imagine that he would do anything he could to keep me away from this place.
And I can’t stop myself from looking at them, despite what Roland told me. My eyes flicker upward with a will of their own, and I catch a glimpse of her. The woman’s head is covered in a hood that drops low over one side of her face. But in its shadow, I can see the other half, and I can tell that she’s incredibly beautiful, even in the dull light of this dingy room, with no make-up on. But her eyes lock with mine for a moment, and I feel a psychic scream of horror. A wave of antagonistic energy hits me, and I quickly look away, fearing for my life.
And the bald one laughs.
“You must never look at my sister again, Saga, dear. She doesn’t like it at all. Usually she will kill a human instantly for such an affront, but I shall convince her to make an exception this time.”
Sister. So that’s their relationship. And I wonder if the third one is also a sibling. I wonder if I’ll even take this knowledge from the room.
“I … I won’t,” I say, though it seems strange to me that the red-haired one is so reluctant for someone to see her. She’s clearly an amazing beauty, and I can tell her shyness isn’t borne of arrogance. It genuinely hurts her to have others stare at her. And it finally occurs to me, why she covers her face, why she’s so bashful; it’s because of me. She’s scarred somehow, from when I raised a rock over my head, long ago, and brought it down on her face. It must have left permanent damage, and it boggles my mind, to think that she’s held this pain for so long.
And she must hate me for it.
The elder vampire seems to have a level of power that’s greater than his sister’s or the silent one’s. It’s as though he senses my thoughts, straight through my so-called defenses. And he smiles in delight at what he sees.
“Do you understand now? Why she covers herself?”
“Yes.”
“And why is that?”
“It’s because of me.”
“Look at me when you say it,” the bald one hisses. “I don’t care what he has told you, you are to do as I say.”
I raise my head, and stare into his sickening yellow eyes.
“It was me, I did it to her. I struck her in the face with a boulder.”
“Yes, you did. You had the temerity to attack us, and you destroyed her eye.”
And from where he stands, I can tell Roland looks surprised. I never told him this part of my story, and he watches us with fascination.
“I’m so sorry,” I say, staring the Elder down.
And he rolls back his head and laughs.
“And why are you sorry? For trying to attack your enemy? For taking revenge for one of your kind? Or are you simply begging for mercy?”
“I’m sorry to have caused her such pain. It was wrong of me.”
“Even though she was your foe? Even though she struck down the one that you loved?”
“What good did it do?” I say.
“He came back, and so did I. It’s a waste, for her to have carried this with her for so long. I would gladly take it back if I could.”
The waves of animosity that fill the room seem to dissipate. Though I can’t look at her, something in the woman seems to have softened toward me. And the bald one laughs even harder.
“You are quite amazing, Meridian. So delicious in your sweetness,” he says. “I can see why these boys are obsessed with you. So mouth-watering, your beauty. Usually, I would devour one such as you who was trapped in my lair, even if I was sated. Snuff out such a glorious light. But in your case, that simply won’t do. So I may have to kill a hundred humans after you leave, just to quell my hunger. But in the meantime, may I have just a taste?”
Oh God, he wants to drink from me, the same way Vincenzo did. Which might be why he struck him down, to claim first right of drink for himself. And from where he stands, I can hear the air escape from Roland’s lungs.
“Oh, don’t worry, I won’t bite her. I am not so vile a creature as that wretched Vincenzo. The pin should have taken that one,” he says, twisting his head just a bit to the side. “My venom would destroy her. She would think of nothing else for a year. No, I just want one drop. A single drop. You won’t even feel a thing.”
I know I don’t have much choice, but I’m not even sure what he’s talking about. How can he not bite me and still get a drop? But before I can respond to him, the bald vampire reaches out and lifts up my arm. He holds his hand above it, and as if by magic, a single drop rises to the surface of my skin, seemingly seeping from my pores.
The Elder watches in fascination, as it floats above me. And he swipes it from mid-air with the tip of his finger. His tongue flicks out, like a lizard’s, slurping it up, and he sticks the entire digit in his mouth to savor every bit.
“Mmmm … divine. Yet, that’s the whole point.”
And I’m not quite sure what he means.
He rolls the sound around in his mouth, savoring the pleasure the taste of my blood gives him. And I hear the woman gasp, as the raw emotion hits her like a wave. Yet, the other man says nothing. He doesn’t even rouse from his meditation.
The bald one looks at me again, drunk on his enjoyment of my essence.
“Ah, Saga. I like your fire. I can taste it, even in that tiny drop of your blood.”
But he quickly regains his composure and turns away from me, as though I no longer exist. And he faces Roland once more. It’s strange, because his demeanor has changed, and suddenly, he’s all business.
“So tell me, why have you brought her here?” he asks.
And Roland looks confused for a moment.
“Master, I’ve only done what you’ve asked. I brought Meridian to …”
“I never asked you to bring her here, though I am glad to have had the chance to see Saga again, in person.”
“Yes, but you assigned me the task of protecting her, and …”
“And you have done a terrible job of it,” the bald one says. “She’s died twice in her past lives while barely in your care for moments. You are an utter failure to me.”
Roland lowers his head in shame, cowed by his taunts.
“You are right,” Roland says, patiently. “But I’ve kept her alive now. And I need your permission to change her if she is to stay that way.”
“Well, I refuse you,” he says, coldly. “I will never grant you permission to grant her the transformation.”
Roland looks stunned, and utterly confused.
“But if I don’t change her, how will she fulfill her destiny?“
A look of rage comes over the elder vampire’s face.
“How dare you question me, you pig! I will never give the honor of the vampire gift to your Luminos whore!”
His anger shakes the walls, and I can almost picture the other beings in the catacombs trembling in fear. Even the third one looks up for a moment, roused from the meditation. But, he quickly returns to his transcendent state. And though Roland seems taken aback, he somehow musters the courage to continue on.
“Forgive me,” Roland says, calmly. “But I only wish to understand. You said she would bring balance to our struggle. You said she would lead us.”
And a playful smile crosses the Elder’s face. He looks like a petulant boy, causing mischief. A very ugly one, at that.
“Is that what I said? Perhaps I should have been more specific. I never said she would lead our people. How absurd would that be, for one of the Luminos to rule us,” he says. “No, where she leads us will be a place. And I’m not quite sure that you need to know where it is.”
And he stares me down.
“Though you’ve finally guessed by now. Haven’t you, my dear?”
Roland looks bewildered for a moment, but suddenly, it all clicks in my mind. I know what I feared has been true all along. They have a more sinister agenda, and it’s far worse than what I had imagined. But I have to know for sure.
And I don’t care anymore if I’m supposed to be quiet or afraid. It doesn’t matter. Something far more important is at stake.
“Where? Where is it I’m going to lead you?” I ask. “Say it.”
And his disgusting grin widens.
“You’re going to lead us into the Golden Realm.”
That place in the clouds that I saw, with Adam. The one I tried to escape to again, in vain. It’s real. There’s no point denying it, anymore. It’s not some creation of my imagination. It really is the place where the Luminos go between lifetimes. And the vampires want to go there. They have plans for that place.
God only knows what they want from it, or how they think I’m going to take them there.
“Go now, protect her as I’ve instructed you to do. And you’ll need to act fast. She is Luminos, and I grant you safe passage through this city for the next 24 hours, but no more. After that, any vampire may slay you both, if they so desire.”
“Not if you want me to take you to the Realm, they won’t,” I say.
And the bald one rolls back his head, and laughs.
“Again, such fire. You will never give up until the bitter end. And that’s exactly what I’m counting on,” he says.
And Roland takes me by the hand.
“Come on, we need to leave.”
He starts to lead me away. We get to the door, but I stop him. I’m not supposed to do it, but I turn back to the Elders and face them, as Roland looks on, dismayed.
“You still haven’t told me one thing,” I say.
And the jagged one looks at me with surprise.
“Which would be?”
“What are your names?”
And he rolls back his head, and laughs.
“You are full of surprises, aren’t you?” he says. “No human has ever known our names. Most vampires do not know them, but I will give that gift to you. I am known as ‘O’ and my sister is Lilliah. Our brother’s name in the vampire tongue would hold no meaning for you, but the closest word in your language would be ‘Now.’ But tell me, why do you feel the need to know?”
I don’t answer him. Instead, I look the woman in the eye, and she returns my gaze, startled.
“You’re still beautiful,” I say.
And she screams. Her death howl echoes through the chambers so deeply I can feel it in my bones, and the sound mixes with her brother’s cackle, as Roland finally pulls me away with a greater force. And the second we step through the threshold of the door, she slams it with a telekinetic fury.
And we run.
We rush through the corridors, and climb the stairs to the upper level. We pass the torture chambers, and head toward the opening that looks down on the garden.
The vampire chambers all around us are empty, not even Vincenzo is about, and I wonder if they’ve all been banished to their rooms, or are simply cowering in fear.
We get to the circular door that leads to the catacombs, and it’s propped open, as though someone has left it that way for us. And I’m thrilled to enter the filthy tunnel
s again, which seem a thousand times more appealing than the place I’ve just been.
As we run, Roland looks back at me, as though he can’t resist any longer.
“The Golden Realm?” he says.
“It’s the place the Luminos go between lifetimes.”
“And how do you know this?” he says, in surprise.
“I just know. I’ll explain it all when we get out of here. If we get out of here.”
Our journey goes quicker this time, maybe because I’m more familiar with the tunnels. And somehow, I’m not worried about my shoes, anymore. Soon, we reach the corridor that leads to the hotel, and we find the stairway that takes us to the upper floors.
When we finally get to our rooms, the dinner plates have been cleared away, and Roland turns to me once more.
“Pack what you want to take from this place. There should be a suitcase in the closet. But only take one, we need to travel light.
“And where are we going?”
“I have no idea,” Roland says, staring off. And it’s strange to see him in something less than complete control. “What did you have in mind?”
“Somewhere warm would be nice, so there’s lot of sunlight for them to be weak in.
And Roland smiles.
“South America it is,” he says.
We both head off to our rooms, and I grab a suitcase from the closet. It’s so cruel that I can only have one, because there are so many designer labels to choose from. Best to start sensibly, I think, and go looking for some jeans and underwear. But then, I change my mind.
“Screw it,” I say. And I rummage through all the boxes that say “Manolo” on the side.
If I’m going to be running for my life from vampires, I might as well do it in style.
I pack a few more items, and soon I’m back in the living area with Roland, who already has his own piece of luggage that looks full. And we head to the lobby of the building. This time, we find a cab waiting at the curb, not a limousine, and we get inside.
The Meridian Gamble Page 51