by Lisa Randall
She didn’t seem that surprised at first. “It sounds like you were depressed and lonely,” she said “but you don’t seem like that kind of person to me.” She gave it some more thought and added “maybe it was a spell?”
That got my attention, as well as Rai’s. We all slowed our walking to the point we had almost stopped.
“What kind of spell can do that? And who would do such a thing?” Rai asked.
“I’m not sure what the spell is called, but it sounds like a type of curse someone put on you to make you feel that way. It sounds like they wanted you to kill yourself or something. As far as who would do it, I can think of only one person. Your maker. If you were getting close, maybe he cursed you to throw you off track to find time to get away.” Selena said.
We all thought about this, and agreed it was a possibility. “It seems like your maker also has some powers. So far, it seems he can hide his presence from those around him, or he would have been caught already. He may have also put that curse on you.” Selena said.
“If that is the case, then he is very old to be able to do such things.” Selena said. “Most witches today can just read and do basic healings for their pack or for those around them. I don’t know of any witch who has the knowledge or power to do anything else.”
“Selena, why aren’t any of your kind affected by the radiation?” I asked. “Did you heal them if one of them got sick?”
“Yes and no. I used to heal and protect my pack from the acid rains if they got caught in it. It is usually too late to tell if a rain storm is just normal rain, or if it is acid rain, and someone always ends up getting hurt. As for the radiation, we shifters are naturally tolerant of it. We do get sick from it from time to time, but it can be cured by a witch.” She said.
“Why is reading not common anymore Selena?” Rai asked. I too wanted to know the reason why learning to read wasn’t seen as important anymore.
“It is written in our history books that after the wars, and the sky was darkened, all creatures, human and supernatural alike, began to die off over the years; either from fighting each other or from disease. After a few hundred years it was almost forgotten by the living, as they were busy with trying to survive the world we had created for ourselves. Only a handful of people decided to teach their children how to read, so if they ever needed answers for something they didn’t understand, they could look in the books of the past for guidance.” Selena explained.
A few minutes passed as Rai and I thought of this. I could still remember the world I had lived in before I slept. People were reading and writing, since it was necessary for the ease of everyday life. There was even a time when people would write to each other on their phones instead of looking up to speak to the person who was usually just a few feet away. When I had hoped for the world to change, I didn’t imagine that the basic skill of reading would no longer be necessary for every person to learn. It was amazing that these people didn’t seem to know they were missing such a simple skill. “Selena,” I asked, “When did you learn to read?”
“My mother, who was the pack witch, taught me and my cousin when we were both teenagers. Why do you ask?” She said.
“I was just wondering. In my time, people would try to teach their children before they could learn to walk. I was remembering when people would forget to look around them and at each other since they always seemed too busy reading about something on their phones.” I said.
“What’s a phone?” Selena asked, confused.
“The times sure have changed, haven’t they?” Rai said. I looked at the ground and nodded. Sometimes, change isn’t always a good thing.
*****
After we left the pack, it seemed as if Selena was getting depressed about something. She would talk less and less, except for when she was trying to teach us about our powers. Finally I had had enough, and asked her “What’s wrong, Selena?” When she didn’t respond, Helen walked up to her and nudged her with her elbow. She seemed as if she was daydreaming about something.
“Huh?” she asked.
“I asked what was wrong? You seem quiet lately. Do you miss your pack?” I asked. Helen put her hand on Selena’s arm in reassurance that it was okay to talk to us. Sometimes I would be surprised at how caring Helen is. Many of the vampires I have met were nothing like her.
“I was thinking…” Selena said.
“About what? You can tell us.” Helen said.
“Why are we headed to the Human City anyways? How do you know they won’t just kill us for being who we are? Two vampires and a shifter-witch wandering around look awfully suspicious to anyone these days.” She replied.
So that’s what she was worried about. I heard Helen sigh mentally at this. What did you think she was worried about? I asked.
I thought she was worried we only brought her along to teach us and when we were done with her we would eat her. I know I would never do this, but wasn’t sure how to convince someone else of this. I mean, we don’t really know her, do we? She said.
Instead of meeting Helen’s gaze, I looked at Selena and said “I’m not sure about anything, but Helen needs to see this world for what it really is. Don’t forget, she is somewhat new to all of this.” I looked at the ground, we had stopped walking to talk. “And we are also going there to see if they have any information about our maker. Remember, your own history journal said he was last seen heading this way. It is our only lead in thousands of years, since it seems he is a master at hiding himself from us.” I said.
“And after all of this is over with, you are welcome to stay with us as long as you like.” Helen said. She was still worried that others may think we want to eat them.
“Another thing.” Selena began. “What do you guys feed from, anyways? These past few days I have eaten some of the food I brought, but neither of you have had a single thing. Aren’t you hungry?” she asked.
“Selena.” Helen said, placing her hand on Selena’s shoulder. “If you are worried we will feed from you, don’t. We would never do such a thing, as we are not like other vampires. Remember, both of us can feed off of energy. After the wars, like you said, there is tons of residual radiation in the air. That is what we are feeding from. Even before I ‘slept’ I fed off of the energy of others.” This seemed to put Selena at ease. “You are our friend, and we would never intentionally harm you.” Helen said. I nodded in agreement.
We continued onwards towards the Human City. It was almost dark when we saw the first of the caves, hidden in the cliffs in the west. We decided to continue in the morning, as they would most likely kill anything that moves at night.
Chapter 10
When I woke, it was already morning, and I was sleeping next to Rai on the hard ground. I didn’t remember falling asleep last night as I kept watch, or even coming over next to Rai.
Selena was awake, looking to the west. She seemed anxious about something. “What’s up?” I asked, waking Rai.
Selena seemed to be concentrating on something in the distance. Finally, she said “The humans have seen us, and are sending a group to come talk with us about something.”
Rai and I looked to where Selena was, and saw a small group of humans coming our way. There were about a dozen of them, and they were all very well armed. At least one thing didn’t change in all these years, guns were still the common weapon it seemed. Every human coming our way seemed to have at least two, along with a sword, and some even had crossbows.
The air in front of us shimmered as Selena put up a protection shield. Neither of us knew how to do protection spells yet, so Selena was our only defense for the time being. As the shield went up, the humans stopped and began talking with each other. Had they seen the magic?
Then one of the humans ran away, probably to tell the others we knew magic. I wondered at how these humans would act towards us. I couldn’t help but to think of all the different ways humans have acted to strangers throughout my time as a vampire. I remember many acting out in violence because they we
re too afraid, usually for no reason. As far as they knew, we were dangerous, since they didn’t know us.
One of the humans, an older man of about forty came to the front of the group. He, like the others, wore scarves around their heads and huge goggles that looked like skiing goggles, covering most of their faces. I could tell this man had a brown beard, and he was thin, but muscular. These must be the guards for the others, I thought. Rai looked at me and nodded. We hadn’t moved since we saw the humans coming our way, but had time to put on our goggles, covering our obvious vampire eyes. If our maker had been this way, the humans would have seen his eyes at some point and have it in their records. If they saw our eyes, they would most likely shoot first, and ask questions later.
The man in front of the group began to shout at us from a distance, I wasn’t sure if Selena could hear them, but I knew Rai and I could.
“Who are you and what do you want?” the man asked.
“We come seeking information about a man.” Selena said.
“Stop your magic or we will shoot!” one of the other humans yelled, pointing his crossbow at us.
“I will if you put your weapons down!” Selena shouted. Things were getting too tense for my liking.
“We mean no harm; we just want some information on a dangerous man. We are hunting him. We promise not to hurt anyone if you will help us in return.” I said. The man with the crossbow looked to the older man, who nodded his head. The one with the crossbow put his weapon down, but only slightly, keeping it at the ready.
The older man pointed at us and said “One of you will come forward to speak with me, the rest of you stay back, and my men will do the same.” Since Rai and I were going to be seen as more dangerous if they found out what we were, Selena stepped forward, slowly making her way to the man, and dropping the magical barrier she had put around us.
Even though they spoke normally, I knew Rai could hear what they were saying, as I could; but we didn’t give any indication that we could hear them.
“Greetings. We are searching for a man.” I heard Selena describe our maker, even mentioning that he was a vampire. This didn’t seem to faze the older man, who just stood and listened. Most likely trying to see if she told the truth or not. He looked to us and asked Selena who we were. He could tell she was not a vampire, by the way she moved, but he couldn’t figure the two of us out. When she told him we were vampires, the man gave a signal to the others and every human in the group raised their weapons at us, ready to fire at the older man’s signal. The tenseness of the situation was getting to me, and I could feel that energy building up again.
I looked to Rai and he grabbed my hand, mentally telling me to calm down and to not show my powers. It would only cause more confusion and fear from the humans. Then the man who ran back to the others in the beginning of this encounter returned with a woman at his side. She was about the same age at Selena, if only a little older. I used my sight and saw that she was a witch, and her energy said that she was anxious about something.
The witch must have used her sight on us and gasped. This got the other humans’ attention. She said something to them I couldn’t hear. My ears were starting to ring from something, and the energy continued to grow.
*****
I was holding on to Helen’s hand when I sensed her energy begin to rise like before. I could tell her emotions were still somewhat sensitive since she woke up, and after all that has happened I don’t blame her for being anxious.
Then a woman arrived with the human who had run away earlier. I could tell she was a witch from her energy, and she too was anxious. She kept looking at Helen and me as if we were some kind of rarity that she wanted to inspect. As she came closer, we kept still, and the humans began to yell at her, telling her to stay back where it was safe. She kept walking, ignoring them all and staring at Helen. I could tell something was happening, but I wasn’t sure as to what.
Then the air began to feel warm. I looked around us and couldn’t find the source of it. Maybe it was coming from Helen. I looked at her and saw she was looking to the sky. Her energy was pointed towards the sky, and I could hear her thinking please don’t let me hurt anyone this time. I couldn’t see her eyes through the goggles, but I knew her eyes were closed. She was looking at the sky when her face began to glow.
I looked up and saw something I hadn’t seen in thousands of years, except through Helen’s memories.
The sun.
Helen had somehow parted the clouds, enough for the sun to shine down on the two of us. It felt warm and comforting, but as soon as it had come, it was gone, and Helen passed out. I caught her before she hit the ground, gently holding her close until she woke. The witch had stopped walking towards us and turned to the humans and said “It’s okay. Let them in. I will watch them. Get back to your posts.” The other humans obeyed her as if she were in charge. She seemed too young to be in charge, but I knew she was a witch, which would put her in a different position as normal people. She was small in size, and pale, with long dark hair, which was flowing freely in the wind.
The man Selena was talking to returned with the others, and she walked up to the other witch. She asked “Do you know of the man we seek?” and the witch nodded. “Not out here.” She said, and began leading us inside. I put Helen in my arms, since she was still passed out.
We headed towards one of the slightly hidden caves in the rocky terrain around us, following the witch. Other humans began coming out of nowhere, looking at us from a distance. I could tell many were frightened, while others were merely curious. Some even began following us, probably keeping an eye on us in case we did anything sudden.
The witch led us down one tunnel in the cave, which was furnished like a meeting room. There was a large stone table in the middle of the room, with large rocks to act as seats all around it. Candles lined the stony walls of the room, shedding enough light to see everyone in the room. The witch sat in one of the chairs, and Selena sat next to her. I stood near a wall, with Helen still in my arms. Thanks to my vampire strength, she wasn’t heavy in the slightest.
“It was not safe, coming here.” The witch told us, looking at Selena.
“We had no other choice. The only information we had of him was that he was headed this way, hundreds of years ago.” Selena explained.
“So,” the witch started, “What does a shifter-witch have to do with two witch-vampires?” the woman asked.
“Let us begin by introducing ourselves.” I said. “My name is Rai, and this lovely lady here in my arms is Helen Grey.”
“And my name is Selena Elmwood” she said.
“I am known as Alice Ashenwood” the woman said.
“Why isn’t it safe?” I asked.
“We don’t trust any outsiders. Not since hundreds of years ago, when one vampire, who was like you,” she nodded to me and Helen “came to us. He tricked us and was able to destroy most of the colony. Luckily, a few of us hid and waited for him to leave before moving.” Alice said.
“We are hunting this man.” I said. “He is my maker, as well as Helen’s. He killed my entire village, and he has done many things that need answering for.” Alice nodded at this, thinking.
“I believe I may be able to help you.” She said. “But I will need to search the history books. It may take a while.” She said, nodding in the direction of the chairs around the table. “Have a seat.”
“Actually, I was hoping we could get something to drink? I know I am thirsty from all of this walking we have been doing, and it is the least you could do.” I said.
Alice stood there, staring at me as if I had just asked for something extremely valuable. I gave her a questioning look, and she responded “You will not drink from my people!” in an outrage.
“No, no, no! I didn’t mean that!” I said, trying to calm her. “I only meant water!” I considered telling her about how Helen and I could live off energy, but wasn’t sure if it was the right thing to do. Looking to Selena, who was seated at the table, she
nodded at me to tell her. She knew it was risky information, but it was something we had to tell Alice in order to gain her trust and to get her to calm down. “Helen and I,” I began “we don’t need to drink blood to survive like other vampires. We live off energy. We used to get it from people, but since the wars, with all of the radiation, we have been able to live off of the radiation in the air. I haven’t had human blood in hundreds of years. You have no need to fear. I have only had deer blood, and only when necessary.” I explained.
Alice thought about this for a moment before asking “What about Helen? When was the last time she had blood?”
“As far as I know, she has only had the blood of some rabbits, which she was forced to do.” Telling her any more would take a while.
She seemed to be okay with these answers, and the tension in the room seemed to lessen, if only a little.
“Wait here. I will go and find the information you will need.” Alice said to Selena. She nodded for her to proceed. “And I will get you all some water as well.” She said, already heading to the door.
After Alice left, we three were alone once again. It seemed this was going a little too well, and I looked to Selena. She seemed to sense the same thing and motioned to stay quiet. Helen began to wake up, so my attention was back to her to see if she was alright. When her eyes opened, she looked up at me and smiled. I was still holding her in my arms, so I set her on her feet, but not yet ready to let her go. She seemed to feel the same way and leaned into me. I took off my goggles, as well as hers, so we could look into each other’s eyes. Somehow, not being able to see her beautiful eyes was something I had seemed to miss during the daytime. Her eyes were even more beautiful by candle light, and I found myself thinking I could just stare into those eyes for eternity.
Chapter 11
I was in awe of Rai’s eyes in the candlelight, when it hit me like a ton of bricks. The worst headache I had ever felt attacked my head with a vengeance. Rai saw me wince with pain and led me to sit down on one of the stony rock chairs by the wall. It felt cool to the touch, and I leaned my head against it. Its coolness seemed to take away some of the pain.