Damage Control

by Eric Alan Williams

  Abanoub scoffed. "In the time I have known you, I have learned a thing or two about gay men, and here you are with abs a mortal would kill for, and you're afraid to show some skin?" The middle eastern Aeonian rolled his eyes.

  Xairin sighed.

  Abanoub insisted. "I need to put in my report what I have seen with my own eyes Xairin, you're beaten up pretty badly."

  Xairin scoffed. "Forget IT!" He leaned forward and grimaced.

  Abanoub was wearing examining gloves as he palpated Xairin's spine and shoulder blades. He stopped for a second when he noticed the one thing Xairin was hoping to keep hidden. The birthmark around his right shoulder blade wasn't in the bruised area. Abanoub had to take a double take. Lilith's crescent moon shaped birthmark was legendary, and Xairin's birthmark was a dead ringer for it. Abanoub blinked his eyes twice.

  Xairin rolled his eyes and snarled through it. He decided not to say a word hoping the man would think nothing of it, after all, it was in his record that he was bitten. He hoped that the situation at hand would be passed off just as it had with Alex Fifer.

  Abanoub finished wiping Xairin's back and took a breath. He remembered reading up on Xairin before he took him on as a training student. He knew Xairin was bitten. But he had this feeling something else was at play here. Abanoub was an older Aeonian. Nothing happened by chance in their world. Still, Xairin's record clearly listed him being a Sensitive bitten in Bastion City. For the moment, he let that line of thinking play out. "I am going to let Aywren know you will be late for sword fencing. You need to rest up some."

  Xairin scoffed. "I thought we were supposed to be pushing ourselves past our limits here. Not resting?"

  "Can't you use that EGR radiation on me or something?" Xairin asked.

  Abanoub shrugged. "I could, but I am sorry, my friend, I'm not allowed to. You have to heal on your own. Consider it part of the training here, bro. You have to heal just as if you were out in the field and had no one to help. And as for pushing yourself, yeah that is true until you end up in triage. This is the one place you are allowed to rest up man, so rest up."

  Abanoub walked off. Xairin was watching him closely. He knew that he had seen his birthmark and didn't say anything about it. He also got the distinct feeling that Abanoub was the type to dig after all the stunning looking Aeonian had already admitted to Xairin about going through his file before agreeing to take him on as a recruit. "Going to have to be smarter about this." He thought.

  Xairin laid back on the floating cot as he tried to recover. Xairin wondered if he could will his healing to speed up. He was the great-grandson of Lilith after all, and he was unique beyond that in being a reforged original vampire. Xairin closed his right eye since his left was already swollen shut and tried to communicate with his blood as he had in the past.

  His cells were active, but they were already careworn from all of the exhaustive activities he had been enduring. They were already going all throughout his body picking, which was the most essential functions to restore. Xairin wanted more out of them, and his cells could sense the mental connection willing them into action to go above and beyond what they already capable of.

  Nothing was happening. Xairin could see his octopus-shaped cells swimming in his veins and arteries as he connected with them, but his will to speed things up was falling on deaf ears. They were simply too haggard. They needed a boost. More blood would have been, but with the ration in force, that wasn't an option, so Xairin decided to go another route.

  Lying there, his thoughts started to dwell on the sewer and what the men did to him. Xairin recalled how that situation made him feel. He wasn't about to let himself relive it but remember it. He remembered how helpless he felt, how degraded he felt, and then the physical pain of what they did to him. Instead of falling into despair, Xairin grew angry. Now he had similar injuries thanks to that damn pair of wererats. He let that fuel into the rage he was mustering. He wasn't going to be someone's victim again…EVER!

  He opened his mouth right as his fangs elongated. His breathing sped up a little. He used that anger and determination to empower his vampiric adrenal glands. Quickly the rage started to force them to fire. His heart started pounding. His cells had no choice but to react.

  Every reddish black cell in his body began to twitch as they responded to his adrenals. His repairing cells started to divide twice as fast, while other cells started to become livelier. This lasted for thirty seconds until his adrenal glands began to wane. It was just the push they needed.

  Suddenly his face started to heal.

  Xairin sat up, he could feel his cells moving through his body as they responded to the stimuli he had provided. He watched as the bruises on his legs, and his chest slowly began to fade. His range of motion was improving, becoming less painful. Xairin closed his eyes and willed a final push. He felt his bones starting to bend outward, they even made a popping noise as they regained their proper shape. The sound perked in Abanoub's ears prompting the Aeonian to turn around.

  Xairin was still bruised up when he stood, but his face was nowhere near as visually damaged, nor was his chest. He went from looking like he had been thrown down fifty flights of steps, and then the ambulance crashing, to maybe six flights of steps, and tripping down a hill. He was still sore but was moving much more relaxed.

  Xairin reached over for his shirt, put it back on and reached into his shorts for a pair of sunglasses that was provided yesterday that resembled swimming goggles to some extent.

  No sooner had he put them on, his former preceptor was standing right there with an awed look. "What in the world?"

  Abanoub's eyes lit up. Xairin shrugged. "I guess that blood you gave me really did the trick."

  "It was pigs’ blood, cloned at that. It shouldn't have boosted your healing this far, this quickly."

  Xairin shrugged. "Hey, you all said we were pushing our bodies to the point of possibly forcing evolutions, right? Maybe I activated that EGR power or something?"

  Thinking back a bit, Xairin added. "Or maybe something finally happened to that bat that bit me?"

  Abanoub pulled out his pen and reran a laser scan, scanning Xairin's body. He pulled it up on a viewing screen behind him. Xairin's cells still had delta hooks, but his cellular activity had increased by nearly thirty percent above the speculated norm. Abanoub looked back at Xairin, he considered what Xairin just asked about the bat that had infected him, along with natural evolution of caste, he also found it to be possible about the EGR radiation ability. "No, not likely. Besides, you would have passed out if you were evolving Xairin. But your healing, well, I have to admit I am at a loss for words in explaining it. I mean, the EGR radiation is possible I guess."

  The young vampire needed to be more careful. He realized that, but the momentary impulsivity of getting to class was overpowering his rationale. Xairin had to become stronger, faster, and able to not only protect himself but anyone he loved or cared for. He couldn't bare going through another conversation like had with Ezra. Either way, Xairin had to remind himself he had to be more careful and less careless. He realized he just gave Abanoub another reason to be curious about him.

  Xairin frowned. "EGR radiation maybe?"

  Abanoub frowned. "I guess that's possible. I mean we were talking about it the other day, and you are in the healthcare field, so it would make sense I guess that you would know which cells would do what."

  Abanoub was at a loss for words. If EGR radiation was used, he should have felt it at least. Either way, he was perplexed.

  Xairin shrugged. "Am I fit enough to go to class, though?"

  Abanoub looked at the scanner recording. He had to relent to Xairin's ambitious request based on what the scanner was reporting. "I suppose so."

  _____

  Lulia Dolenigan was overlooking the camp from a stone veranda adjacent to her private quarters. Her ghostly white hair, blowing in the gentle breeze as she stood there, enjoying a much-needed mental break. The sun was rising. Being an older vampire,
the sun's glare didn't bother her as much as it did the others, so she enjoyed a magnificent sunrise when her time allowed it. She needed a break.

  The Grand Adjudicator had spent most of her morning on a holo-conference call with the Galactic Alliance Security Council. To maintain transparency, she informed them of the situation with the reason behind her appointment. Both General Rhymes and the Madam Supreme appreciated the Society's honesty. It helped sway a few others into realizing they truly wanted the best for all involved, not to mention highlighting the dangers that the Conclave presented.

  Rhymes proposed a military strike involving droids to minimize mortal casualties, which Lulia supported. She gave them seven locations of suspected Conclave strongholds. She figured, letting them bomb with silverized gas would help get the point across and reduce the chances of Society members exposure. After the dust settled, Society support would be sent in to help mop up what was left.

  Lulia enjoyed her time taking in the fresh air. She knew she wouldn't have long given she had recently sent for someone so Lulia took in all she could. The white-haired beauty loved taking in the scenery, especially sights that involved nature and the island provided just that.

  Her quick break came to an end as a sliding door to her personal chamber slid upward into the ceiling and closed right behind the woman that entered.

  Helena Dolenigan, Lulia's sister, both bitten, and her actual mortal sister until they both were turned, entered.

  Helena didn't have the same hauntingly white hair as her older sister, she had blond. She was the same height, same build, perfectly endowed with feminine grace, as well as vampiric ferociousness. She was wearing the red uniform, took off her helmet, and placed it on a stone table as she walked out onto the veranda. Helena seemed annoyed. "I see you were Grand Adjudicator well. So, what do you want Lulia?"

  Lulia and Helena had always been close when they were human, but after Dracula had turned Lulia first, Helena second, and Evette third, that changed. Helena grew jealous of the affection the vampire lord lavished on her older and younger sister. Partly why she chose to go off on her own. Being summoned by Lulia was a sting.

  "It is good to see you, Helena. It has been far too long."

  "Not long enough, but here we are."

  Lulia wasn't happy about the wedge between them. She missed her sister. She wanted to hug her but knew Helena would brush it off. "Look, to get to the point of the matter, I honestly need your help."

  Lulia turned around and leaned against the stone railing. "Despite our differences, you are still a Dracul, and deep down, I know you still have loyalty to Vlad."

  "I thought we were calling him Damien now?"

  Lulia scoffed. "You know what I mean, Helena."

  As much as she didn't want to admit it, she was loyal to him, she still loved him. She was after all one of his three brides, the weird sisters that ruled his castle until they left the old world for the new. Helena rolled her eyes, crossed her arms, and smirked. "Of course. So why summon me then?"

  Lulia looked around, her ears elongating to elf status, and then gazed at her sister. "Not here."

  "Excuse me?"

  Lulia's white gown had slits along the back. Her white wings stretched out, took shape, and flapped. "Not here, follow me."

  Helena was annoyed. "My uniform didn't come with wing slits."

  Lulia landed and walked over to her sister, allowed the pointer finger on her right hand to grow a black talon, and adjusted that for Helena. "Now you have them, come on…"

  Lulia climbed on top of the stone railing and leaped into the air. Helena sighed, forced her blackened wings from their slits, gave them a few flaps, and was right behind her sister as they glided over the jungle.

  The Adjudicator flew to a beach on the far side of the island where no structures had been added yet. Once she landed, she chattered her teeth to assure herself no one was near. Once Helena landed, Lulia retracted her wings and looked at her sister. "There's a traitor among the council, and I am pretty sure whoever it is, isn't alone."

  Helena scoffed. Her tone was filled with sarcasm. "Our creator was abducted, as was Lilith, a traitor in our midst is a given."

  Lulia nodded. "Not a single council member is talking about it openly, only in secret. I have my suspects, but that is not the real reason I brought you out here."

  "What I am about to tell you, can never go further than you or I, or our sister Evette. Got it?"

  Helena looked at Lulia. She could see the urgency in her face. Something was truly bothering her, and it wasn't just the traitors. "Fine, what is going on Lulia?"

  Lulia kept constant eye contact while her ears remained vigilant. "The child that Vlad had with Lilith, Sara. We have found evidence that suggests she is still alive."

  Helena coughed. "WHAT?"

  "I don't have a lot of time, so listen carefully. House Ninlil sent Vlad everything they had on the offspring he and Lilith shared. Vlad went to digging and found records and a one hundred and seventeen-year-old thrall that confirms most of it. He turned the thrall, Helena, I have pulled from her myself. Sara Tyler married a mortal, and it appears she had children. Three. They're half breeds, but nonetheless heirs to both houses."

  Helena scoffed. "If that's true, a halfbreed can't take the throne of The Society."

  "True, but if Sara really is alive, she is the heir to The Society Throne, House Dracul, and Ninil. But Vlad found something else highly peculiar."

  "What?"

  He went to pay his respects to his halfbreed grandchildren's crypt. The crypt was tricked out with silver weapons. Someone went to great lengths to make sure no one would able to retrieve the bodies." Lulia had a copy of the papers Vlad had in his briefcase and handed it over to Helena. She had them hidden, rolled up and folded in one of the pockets to her gown. "Read it..."

  As she was reading, Lulia continued. "The thrall Vlad changed confirmed that Ethan Holiday, is one of Sara's spawn, one of her bite children and if that is true, that means that the South American vampire Griffin Giovanni that is one of your new team lieutenants share our blood. That means you can pull from him without touching him. That alone will confirm it."

  Being an immortal Helena's eyes went through those documents within seconds. She looked up, puzzled. "So, there was a misspelling on this Xiris guy's tomb?"

  "I think his name is pronounced Xiren, or Xairin, not sure. But yes. The weird part is Helena, is that Xairin Dean Thunder is here right now at in basic."

  Helena was confused. "Wait, we don't allow half breeds, let alone a dhampling to join. Only greater dhampirs are allowed, not the half and half, or the lesser." She looked at the paperwork again. "If this document is correct and Sara did have a daughter named Cecilia, then that means he's a dhampling, not a vampire…"

  Lulia's eyes went pitch black as her eyes scanned for anything with a heat signature, her ears continuing to look around for anything coming with her biosonar. She then answered her sister's assumption. "Xairin Dean Thunder was bitten by a bat in Bastion City. Xairin Dean Thunder is a pureblooded vampire. I think that him being a dhampling, he was likely ignorant of what he was. I pulled strings and hacked his file. He grew up in foster care as that document suggests, and then a few months ago, was bitten by one of those bats… Helena, if Vlad's information he gathered is correct, and this man is indeed his grandchild, I think that bat bite made him a pure vampire which if I am correct, changes the game completely."

  Helena's eyes widened, she too let her eyes go black and started using her echolocation. If what her sister was saying is true, they had more to worry about. Assured they were safe. She looked at Lulia. "We can't convert halfbreeds, but the bat… The primal source of what made us all could convert." She gasped. "Oh my god, then that means…"

  Lulia interrupted. "If he bears Lilith's birthmark, and him being not only her descendant, but a pure vampire remade by this Aeon Strain's power, it makes him a proper heir to the throne of each house, and of The Society."

  "I
f that's true, then why is he here?"

  "I don't know, but I do know that Ethan Holiday made sure to pull strings to ensure Mr. Thunder had a private domicile and was paired with Griffin Giovanni, both of which will be on your team."

  Helena felt the pressure coming on. She was pawing at her hair. "So what, you want me to babysit? Or confirm it?"

  "Confirm it, and if it is true Helena, we have to keep it a secret. If he is an heir, and if halfbreeds really can be converted, we have to keep that between us, sister."

  Lulia paced. "We each fell in love with Vlad. When Lilith came along, it drove a wedge, a wedge that was already eating at us thanks in part to the way things happened. But regardless, we are Dracul. And if what Vlad has found is true, then it is our duty as Dracul to protect our House. As much as it pains me, if we cannot save Dracula and that bitch Lilith, then we need to make sure these heirs are ready for what lies ahead."

  Helena thought about it while her sister continued her soapbox. "If you can pull from Griffin, that tells us they are a branch of House Dracula, and if Xairin has the birthmark, and you're able to pull from him, or even trick him into seeing if he can pull from you, that confirms it too. I need you to confirm this and keep him safe if Vlad was right."