And he stares off with a stony expression, making it hard for me to tell exactly how he feels about what I’ve just said.
“The Golden Realm. I wonder what it is that they want from it.”
In our journeys I’ve told him about it, how I can see it from the place where I go with Adam, which I’m sure Roland didn’t like to hear.
“I don’t know. But I think that they want it all. They want to rule that place. And maybe from there, they can conquer every dimension.”
“That’s a chilling thought. And one we will stop. Which means I’ll have to negotiate even more, if I’m to broker your return to the Luminos. Because if you’re going back to them, it won’t be without me.”
And I’m stunned by what he says.
“Roland, are you serious? The Luminos won’t have you amongst their ranks. They’ll kill you.”
“They’ll need me, if they’re going to keep you alive. They’ll need more than me, if they’re going to kill the Elders.”
And Roland smiles.
“I’m your protector, remember? And I’m not going to give up on you now.”
And that’s all it takes, to finally weaken my resolve. I lean over and kiss Roland, and his strong arms are finally around me, pulling me toward him. He slides his hand under my flimsy nightgown, and pulls it up over me. And I melt into the familiar pleasures of his warm embrace.
I wake up early the next morning, feeling groggy. And I immediately remember what happened the night before, making love with Roland. But I don’t have much time to mull over my guilt, because he’s hovering above me. And I smile for a moment, thinking he wants more.
“Wake up,” Roland says. “They’re here.”
“Who’s here?”
“Vampires. They’re coming for us.”
I get up and follow him out into the hallway. Nivina bursts out of the door from the master bedroom, wiping her eyes.
“What’s going on?”
“Nivina, go back in your room. Go to sleep,” Roland says.
“Don’t you want to have some fun, first?”
He doesn’t wait for an answer. Roland plunges his teeth into her neck, and drinks from the girl. And she quickly falls back asleep. He pulls himself away from her, and wipes the blood from his mouth, though some is still smeared across his face. Roland takes her back into the bedroom, and places her on the bed next to Lenny, who lies there, comatose.
And I follow him back out into the living room.
“Roland, who are these people?”
“I don’t know, their minds are very well-protected.”
“And what are we going to do? Run?”
“No, I think it’s best that we face them here.”
Roland paces about the living room, examining it, determining the strategic layout of the land. He eyes the samurai blades hanging on the wall, and takes one down, removing it from its sheath. Roland puts it back in and hangs the blade from his shoulder, and looks to me again.
“Meridian, go, get dressed. They’ll be here very soon.”
“First, some knives,” I say. “Get me knives.”
It’s another of Saga’s skills from the past I’ve remembered. And I silently thank the General for the first time, because he forced her to learn to throw them with skill. And now, with my memories, I’m just as talented.
We go into the kitchen and quickly look through some drawers. Roland finds some steak knives, but they’re not like normal ones. They’re made all of steel, and have sharp edges, not serrated ones. I grab one and hurl it through the air, toward a wall. And it sticks in perfectly.
“These will do.”
I gather a few of them up, and take them back into the bedroom.
I quickly get dressed. I put on jeans and a T-shirt, and some ankle boots with a low heel. And I slip on a leather jacket I’ve collected during my travels. By the time that I’m done, Roland comes back.
He puts his hand on my shoulders, seriously.
“Meridian, I want you to stay here, no matter what.”
“I want to help you,” I say. “Isn’t that what you’ve been training me for?”
“I’ve been training you for dire circumstances, and we’re not at that point yet. You’ll be helping me the most if you stay here, so I am not distracted with worry. Go, close yourself in the bathroom.”
He pushes me inside the room, and I lock the door behind me. And I’m suddenly alone. I lower myself onto the floor and lean against the sink, feeling stupid, sitting there with my knives.
And even though he’s an immortal of great power, with mental abilities that can be used to fling people across the room, I feel horrible knowing that Roland is out there alone, fighting for me, facing who knows what. Are Marion’s forces coming for me? The Paris vampires? Or something else?
But I wonder if there is something I can do to help. Apparently I do have abilities beyond the Luminos fighting skills I remember. It scares me to try it, because it might all be a trick on the part of the Elder vampires, to get me to do exactly what they want. But they’re not here, and I don’t see how they can be using me, not in this moment.
If I can escape this place, it might be the best thing I can do for Roland. It might be the only solution to the crazy conundrum of my life.
And before the fighting begins, I calm my mind. And I try to go to the place I’ve created with Adam.
It’s hard at first, I don’t think I’ll be able to do it, because I’m nervous. But slowly, I begin to sense it; the energy begins to fill the room, more strongly than I’ve ever felt it before. And from the corner of my eye, I feel like I see someone, moving within it, moving inside the energy in the room.
And that odd feeling overtakes me, the one that always freaks me out, and I feel myself rushing through a tunnel of white light.
I’m in the strange world, at the base of the hill, and my jeans and jacket are white, sparkling with bits of light. I wonder if I’ll see Adam here, but I don’t really have time to look for him or call out his name. I can’t have anything stop me now, and I run for the top of the hill.
When I get there, I stand at the edge of the cliff, and look down to the chasm beneath. It seems endless, and I wonder what lurks there, I wonder what will happen if I jump. I look back over my shoulder toward the black forest, and I hear a kind of rumbling coming from the place. There’s something within it, and it’s coming for me. And I can’t help but to think it’s the Elder vampires, hungering for their opportunity to come after me.
I look up into the clouds, which are billowy and thick, but nothing is happening. They aren’t parting for me, I can’t see into the Golden Realm. And I wonder why it’s not working this time.
Maybe I need Adam here, maybe his energy helps me to connect to that place.
I call out, in a panic.
“Help! Help me! Someone help me, please!”
But nothing happens.
“Mother!” I call out, in desperation.
And finally, it works. The clouds part, and I see the rolling green hills from that other dimension. There are no little girls playing there this time, but I see the gates of the gleaming city, and they open for me. And someone approaches. The person looks like a tiny dot at first, but then I realize it’s the woman with the flowing amber hair and red dress who comes toward me, seemingly in slow motion.
She finally gets close, and even though she’s far away, I can see her face. And there’s an expression of sadness upon it. I take several steps back, ready to run and jump toward her, but somehow, she stops me.
“Do not try it. You cannot return, my daughter.”
“Please, you have to help me.”
“No,” she says, sadly. “The Golden Realm is closed to you. At least for now.”
“But you have to help me! They’re coming for me! They’re going to kill me!”
“You must stay where you are and live out this life. If you’re going to help that place, you’ll have to do it from within. And there are very dark days ahe
ad for you. But rest assured, we’ll send you what help that we can.”
“But …”
“I’m sorry. What I do now, I do for the safety of the Realm. But always remember that I love you.”
Suddenly, the clouds close up just as quickly as they opened, and she’s gone.
And I shake my head. Send me help? How is she going to send me help? If she’s going to help, then I need help right now.
I look to the forest, and the loud thundering continues to come from within it. It’s so loud that it shakes the ground. I see a crack form in the earth beneath me, and for a moment, I think I’m going to fall through. But when the loud thud sounds again, I’m suddenly back in the penthouse bathroom, the quickest I’ve ever returned.
And I realize the thundering is coming from the walls. Roland is fighting in the other room, and the noise is from something that crashes against it so forcefully, it forms a crack above the sink.
And I can’t sit in here any more, no matter what Roland said.
I take my knives, and open the door to the bedroom. And I slowly creep out into the hall.
I peek out, and Roland is fighting them in the living room. There’s more than one of them, and they’re moving around so fast they’re almost blurs.
But one of them stops for a moment, landing a few punches on Roland, and I get a better look at him. He’s armored and wears a dull green suit, one that I’ve seen before. It’s the same as the Luminos armor, the one the soldiers had on when they rescued me from the basement of the vampire tower. It makes no sense, but I don’t wait for answers. I let instinct take over, and throw.
It’s as though the soldier can sense the knife slicing through the air. He turns and dodges it easily, but Roland catches the blade in mid-air. And he buries it in the man’s throat, dropping him to the ground.
“That’s my girl,” he says, smiling at me.
But two more of the soldiers come at him. And as he fights them off, one more tries to grab me.
He comes at me, down the hallway, and this is my moment. I had wanted to help, and now I have no choice but to fight.
We trade blows. I throw punches at him, from the left and right, and he blocks them. I try to kick him, but he sidesteps with ease. But I finally land a punch to his chest, knocking him back a bit. And I think that it’s not so bad, maybe I have a chance. But the man comes at me, pinning me against the wall.
I knee him in the groin, and hear a gasp of pain, and punch at his throat, stunning him. The man lets out a choking sound, and backhands me with such force it sends me reeling. And he’s far stronger than I had thought.
The man picks me up and lifts me by my shoulders, pinning me against the wall once more. He has an ironclad grip I can’t break, and for a moment, I’m sure this is the end of me.
“What are you doing?” the man says, as noises of violence come at us from the living room.
“Killing vampires,” I say. “It’s what we Luminos do.”
“We are the Luminos. We’re here to rescue you. The General sent us.”
There’s a trickle of blood coming from my mouth, and when he sees it, fangs pop out from behind the man’s mask. But he shakes his head, and retracts them.
And none of it makes any sense.
“You can’t be Luminos! You’re vampires.”
“We are vampires. We have the blood now,” the man says.
And it dawns on me. Roland’s sample.
“No, the blood was supposed to be used to create a biological weapon.”
“Their blood is impervious to disease. Only vampires can kill vampires. We are the weapon.”
And it finally dawns on me, what their true intent was all along. The Luminos are creating a vampire army.
And it all happens so fast. Roland rips the man off me, and throws him against the wall. They trade a few more blows. Roland still has the samurai sword, and he whips it out in a flash, and brings it down on him, cutting off his arm.
It’s disgusting, the Luminos soldier spins around, flailing, and a spray of blood comes at me from the severed limb. I watch as Roland grabs the man and hurls him with such a terrible force that he goes crashing through the glass of the living room, falling to what must be his death.
The blood has splattered against my face. I can taste a bit of it, a strange and metallic flavor in my mouth. A drop must have hit my lips or gone past them, but something is terribly wrong. A hideous burning sensation courses through my body that seems to start from that one tiny drop, and I feel like I’m on fire.
I fall to the ground, and my body is incredibly hot, as if I’m a burning ember. It’s so painful that I let out a horrible scream. But even through my discomfort, I somehow realize what’s going on. I remember the sensation from Saga’s life; I’m undergoing the transformation. But it’s not happening slowly over days of repeated infusions. It’s happening all at once.
I’ve been infected by the Luminos blood. And it’s not supposed to happen this way.
My body is wracked with pain, and instantly my senses are changing. I can hear noises on the street, 20 floors down, sounds of panic over the body that has splattered against the pavement. And I can tell from the sounds that Luminos soldier has survived somehow. He gets up for a few moments, spraying blood on those around him. He’s lunging onto people, trying to drink to stay alive. And there’s chaos down below.
But something else attracts my attention, a sweet smell that I can’t resist.
It’s Lenny and Nivina, asleep in their room.
And I realize Roland is above me, looking to me with concern.
“Meridian. Meridian, are you okay?”
“No, I’m not okay,” I scream at him, through gritted teeth. “You got your wish. I’m changing.”
And he looks at me, stunned, as the reality of what’s going on sinks in.
But it’s not just my nose and ears that are sensitive, my eyes are sharper, too. I catch sight of something, a glint of light from a building across the way, through the broken glass of the living room window.
A shot rings out, and I can see it all in slow motion. The bullet coming through the window, and Roland turns at the last possible moment, distracted by his fear for me. I watch as it cuts into his head, some weird shot that explodes from within his skull. To my horror, Roland drops to the ground beside me, and with my new keen senses, I realize that the impossible has happened; he’s dead. And there’s so much blood, all around me, everywhere.
It can’t be real, he can’t be gone, Roland is too strong and powerful. I reach out, and try to lift the part of his skull that’s been blown off, thinking I can put it back on and heal him. But instead, I can’t believe what I’m doing. All I can focus on is the blood, and my compulsion to taste it. I don’t even care about Roland anymore, and I scoop some up with my finger, putting it to my lips.
But it’s wrong. It tastes coppery and bitter, and I turn away from him. Because I know something close by will be much better.
From behind me, the door of the master bedroom opens, and Nivina comes stumbling out. And I’m certain she’ll taste just right.
“Oh my God, what happened?”
I leap on her, instantly, in an uncontrollable way.
Fangs pop out of my mouth, and I bury them into her neck. And it’s ecstasy. I remember this feeling, from Saga’s life, of drinking human blood. And the taste goes beyond any gourmet meal, it transcends eating. This feels like I’m drinking in life, straight from Mother Earth.
I can feel Nivina twitching and gasping beneath me, sputtering for air. And I don’t care. I don’t care if this silly bitch lives or dies. But it feels strange, my connection to her, as I start to get images from her life. They’re distasteful to me. Her entire existence seems like it’s filled with selfishness and greed. I watch her as the images flow by, cheating and charming her way through adolescence and into adulthood, flirting with teachers to get passing grades in school. Manipulating Lenny with sex to get him to marry her.
But
before I can experience more, a shot rings out. I hadn’t even realized someone else was there.
I turn with a hiss, and see Adam standing above me, smiling. And it’s like a miracle that he’s here.
“Don’t drink them to the point of death. Never drink them that far. It’s bad.”
Lenny comes out of the bedroom, and Adam raises a strange rifle he carries, one that looks like a futuristic weapon. And he drops Lenny with a single shot. The young man falls next to me, and it’s a heady scent, the fresh human blood that spills from his wound. I consider drinking again, but my body is suddenly wracked with pain. Somehow, feasting on Nivina’s blood changes me once more, and I can barely move.
“Adam, what are you doing here?” I sputter, through the pain.
“I’ll explain later. We’ve got to get you out of here,” he says. “It’s not safe.”
Adam spies the chunk of Roland’s head I tried to reattach, and he lifts it by the hair, hurling it across the living room, out the window.
And Roland’s body turns to dust.
Adam disappears into one of the bedrooms, and comes back with a blanket that he wraps all around me. And despite all that’s happened, it’s a comfort, to see him once again, to have him hold me in this way.
But as he covers me, I get one more strange sight. There’s a girl, standing over him, past his shoulders. I’m not sure how she’s even in the room, but she’s funky and futuristic all at the same time, with a nose ring and tattoos on her neck, ones that change and move around her face in a magical way. Her hair is red and shaved on the sides, and she looks at me and smiles.
Nikki. Her name is Nikki. And she’s me. A future me. And I’m dead now, or dying from my change as a vampire. Instinctively, I know I’ll be her some day, and the sensation is the most bizarre one of all.
Adam covers my face, and I can feel him lifting me, carrying me from the penthouse with ease. And finally, it’s all too much, and I drift into darkness once more as I think of the girl who will be my future self, knowing that seeing her means I’m not going to make it out of this alive.
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