The Art of Darkness (Part 9)

"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end." - Marcus Annaeus Seneca

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8

---

My heartbeat must have been getting to him. The way it pounded, nearly punching a hole in my chest. But there was no stopping it. Though we had shared many a kiss by now, nothing felt as compromising, as intimate as this moment. This was different. It wasn’t born out of desperation or panic. This was us, trying to find a new way forward.

I strained to keep still, to calm my nerves. Not too much, remember? He likes it that way. I shivered with the thought. How many victims has he left for dead doing this very same thing? What if he’s right, and he can’t stop? Oh why did I agree to this? Why did I think I could do this? Stupid, stupid! I squeezed my eyes shut. Focus. You said you would try, remember? This was your idea.

He stared at me a long while, caressing my cheek with his thumb, before bringing his lips in to meet mine. It was brief, soft, but passionate and I couldn’t shake the feeling it was meant as a “just in case.”

Hovering above me, I could feel his frosted breath as he traced his nose up and down my neck. I had to admit, though part of me was screaming (my conscience along with it), I never wanted him more. And that terrified me.

“Ready?”

I nodded. My words were gone, stolen by a breath I couldn't quite catch.

He leaned his weight in, cradling my neck gently with his hand. Once again I felt the sting as his fangs pierced my skin, causing me to gasp, my eyes thrown open. After a moment, it subsided and I could feel a trickle of something beginning to spread, a wild flame slithering through my veins down into my chest, pooling in my abdomen. I had never been so alert, so aware, every sensation growing stronger, every scent more complex, every color more vibrant. The euphoria was overwhelming, an untamed river on the loose, rushing through me faster than I thought possible.

He levied himself on me further, holding me down as the stillness became agonizing. I could sense my instincts kicking in, pushing me to fight back, tearing at me. It took all my will to tame the beast I felt rising.

Then, there was a turn. As I began to float, the world falling beneath me, my heart picked up its pace, and my breath shallowed. My head…dizzy.

“S-stop,” I muttered, my voice barely a whisper. I was weakening.

I reached up and clenched his bicep, tightening as hard as I could. Nothing. When I squeezed harder, he groaned, freeing his grip from my neck and pushing my hand away, cementing my wrist to the blanket beside me. I was beginning to lose consciousness again. What do I do now?

My brain scrambled with what little oxygen I had left. And with the original plan now useless, I did the only thing that came to mind. Gathering all of my remaining strength, I turned my head just enough and tore into him, biting down hard on the bottom of his neck.

“Ouch! Amber, what did you-” He pulled away, finally allowing me enough breath to keep my mind from going under, at least temporarily.

“Christ, hold on.” I felt the bed jostle as he got up and then returned, compressing a small hand towel to my neck. “Stay with me.” His voice faded, still calling my name, as the darkness filled the void.

“Amber?” Opening my eyes, he sat on the edge of the bed next to me, still keeping the towel in place. “Thank God. Are you all right?”

“How long was I out?”

“Not long. A few moments just.” He peeled the bloodsoaked towel away, dabbing at the wound. “It appears the bleeding has stopped.”

Slowly, I pushed myself from the blanket, trying to come to an upright position.

“Easy. Perhaps you should remain until you gain your bearings.”

“No, no. It's all right. I'm all right.”

Gingerly taking my elbow, he helped me prop myself up against the headboard. My stomach was reeling, my head pounding. But I was alive. I glanced at him, relief filling his eyes. He brought a cold hand up, sweeping a strand of hair from my face, ladling his thumb on my jaw before leaning in to kiss me. It was stronger this time, as though it were our first after a long absence.

It wasn’t until he relaxed back that I noticed it. “You're bleeding.”

Touching his clavicle, he stared at the dark red substance now coating his fingertip.

“Father Andrews said only a vampire's fangs are strong enough to bite through your skin.”
“Indeed.”

“What does it mean?”

“I do not know.”

Like a sudden gust of wind in a sail, a memory I had all but forgotten about thrust itself forward into my mind.

“When we were attacked at the church, one of them jammed a needle into my neck. As he jumped out the window I heard him mention something about a sample. What if it was my blood they were after?”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. But I can’t help but notice they didn’t kill me. They want me alive. I wonder- what time is it?”

“Half past five in the morning. Why?”

“Perfect. We need to go back to the university.”

“Amber, need I remind you we are still fugitives.”

“I know. I wouldn’t risk it if it weren’t important.”

He sighed heavily. “And where are we headed this time, another library?”

“Professor Isaacs’ lab.”

“Are you sure this is wise? He was not at all thrilled that I accompanied you to his home.”

“It’s not him I need to see.”

“Who then?”

“Freddy.”

Reluctant as I knew he must have been, he didn't fight me this time and we were soon on our way back to the university. I used the car ride to go over more of Dr. Bachmann's journals, pouring through every page, desperate to find something, anything that could shed some light.

---

November 12th, 1824

The most incredible of miracles has occurred. I barely even know how to put it to words. My blessed Katerina is with child. A hybrid. The first of its kind. We are still uncertain of the probability or the likely outcome, but this pregnancy serves as further evidence it is possible for our species to coalesce. And while it has given me hope for the future, it has not come without cost.

Katerina’s father, Lord Cawston, remains our one ally in the vampiric world. He has spoken of increasing murmuring amongst the other members of the Curiae. I fear, with the emergence of the child, the ability to keep our relationship a secret may be coming to an end. Still, I feel I must continue.

Lord Cawston visits almost nightly, bringing news, supplies, anything he can offer. We are forever in his debt.

---

“Cawston,” I read aloud.

“Cawston? Lord Cawston?”

“Hmm. He’s mentioned here. According to this, he’s Katerina’s father. Do you know him?”

“Indeed, though I have not spoken to him in many years.”

“This makes it sound like he’s a member of the Curiae.”

“Was. He disappeared some time ago. Not long afterward, his son, Andrew, took the position representing their coven on the council. I was not aware he even had a daughter.”

“Whatever happened to Lord Cawston?”

He shook his head. “No one knows for certain. As far as I am aware, no one has seen or heard from him since then. The rumor was that he died.”

“Oh.”

“Does it mention anything about what happened to the child?”

“No. The last entry by date was when Dr. Bachmann sent them away. The story ends there.”

“I see. And what are you hoping to gain by going back to the university? Who is this Freddy?”

“A friend. He also happens to be one of the best hematologists I know. Maybe he can tell us what they might have been after.”

His brows furrowed. “You seem disappointed.”

“It's just- Dr. Isaacs told me the vampire made it sound as if the journals would provide a way to find him. But, I don't see it.”

“If this vampire is sympathetic to our cause, that would make him quite a large target. I would assume he would not make this easy.”

“I know. Let's just get there.”

The majority of what was left of the drive we spent in silence. Another rainstorm had found its way upon us, streaking the windows with its watery bands. I felt defeated. With every new fork in the road, more questions piled up behind it. Questions I was beginning to think would never be answered.

When we reached the lab, I peeked through the doorway. Saturdays were usually pretty quiet but not for Freddy. Freddy, it seemed, never slept, obsessed with his research, even more so than I. As usual, I found him hunched over his microscope, his short raven curls all askew, white coat speckled with reddish orange chip dust. The room had been darkened to reduce overhead glare. I often thought he rather liked it that way anyway.

“Freddy?”

“Be with you in a moment.” He didn't even raise his gaze, making an adjustment to his microscope slide. “Ha! There it is,” he exclaimed, triumphantly tossing his pencil onto his open notebook before scribbling some notes.

When he finally looked up at me, his eyes grew wide, wider still when he noticed Morvinus. Though they hid their attributes well, to those of us that knew, vampires were rather easy to discern. The pale skin and unique gaunt gave them away.

“Amber, is this?”

I nodded.

“Morvinus Andonov, sir. Pleasure to meet you.” Morvinus gave his usual tip of respect but Freddy was too busy gawking.

“You're a-”

“A vampire, yes.”

“Incredible. Would it be okay if I asked for a small blood sample?”

I tugged on the arm of his coat. “Actually, that's partly why we came. Freddy, I need your help with something.”

“Hmm? You want my help?”

“Yes. I need you to look at my blood.”

He looked perplexed. “Oh, why yours?”

“That's what I’m hoping you can tell me. Please?”

“Oh.” He looked from me to Morvinus and back again, his eyes narrowing. “Wait. You’re not wanting me to see if you're pregnant are you? You know that's not what I do.”

“No, it's not like that,” I said, chuckling nervously. “Will you just take a look, for me?”

He sighed, degloving his hands and rising from his stool. “All right, but just this once. And you can't say a word to anyone, do you hear? Dr. Isaacs would probably have both our heads on a pike.”

“My lips are sealed. Freddy, you are a saint.”

“Yeah, yeah, good for me.” Donning a fresh pair of gloves, he returned to his stool with a lancet, pricking my finger and manipulating a small drop of blood onto an empty slide. I brought a folded piece of gauze to the wound, holding my breath as he slid the glass onto his microscope.

“I don't know, it looks normal to me, Amber.”

“Oh.” My heart fell.

“Wait.”

“What?”

He stayed silent for several minutes, adjusting the knobs this way and that.

“Freddy, you're killing me here, what is it? What do you see?”

He backed away from his microscope, giving me a strange look.

“Why did you say you wanted me to look at this?”

“It's a long story. Let's just say, I suspect there may be something unusual going on.”

“Huh. Well, it's unusual all right. It's almost as though…no, that's not right.”

“What?”

“As humans, we have three types of blood cells; red, white, and platelets. But yours? Yours has something I've never seen before. There's a fourth type of cell here I can't identify. This is incredible. I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't pulled the sample myself.”

“Would it help to have something in which to compare?” Morvinus stepped forward, rolling up the end of his shirt sleeve.

“Oh, um, sure.” Freddy got up to grab another lancet and pair of gloves.

“I'm afraid your needles are useless at piercing our skin. Allow me.” Morvinus opened his mouth, sliding the tip of his fang out just enough to puncture the skin on his finger.

Freddy jumped. “Sorry. That's just a bit…unsettling.”

Without another word, Morvinus eased a miniscule droplet onto another slide and edged it in Freddy's direction.

“Thanks.” Freddy cleared his throat, straightening on his stool, replacing the slide on his microscope.

“Wow, this is incredible, I mean, really-” he cleared his throat again, “incredible.”

After a few more moments, and a handful of “incredibles,” Freddy finally peeled away from his microscope.

“Well?” I asked.

“I can't say for certain without more time to analyze it, but there do seem to be some similarities between your samples. If I didn't know any better, I would say you're at least part vampire. Amber, this is-”

“Incredible?”

“You really didn't know?”

“Not a clue.” And there it was. Like a book that had suddenly been thrown open to a final battle, I was left reeling from yet another major revelation. Only this time, it wasn't just an anonymous visitor from my past, but a piece of me. My whole life had been flayed before me. My past, who I am, all built on a lie.

“Wait. I don't understand. I don't crave blood, I don't get sick in the sun. I don't have fangs.”

“That's why I said part vampire. You clearly share this same type of blood cell, but there's so little known about vampire anatomy and chemistry, I can't say with any certainty how much vampire you have in you. Like I said, I would need more time. A bigger sample wouldn't hurt either,” he grinned.

I couldn't help but chuckle.

“It may not be a bad idea,” Morvinus chimed.

I sighed. “Fine. How much do you need?”

After forking over a healthy dose of blood into Freddy's all too eager hands, Morvinus and I said our goodbyes and walked out the door. When we reached the parking garage, I had to stop, planting myself on the curb.

“Amber, are you all right?”

I didn't know what to say. No? My whole life is a lie and I can't deal with it right now? I had no words left. With every new piece of the puzzle, I could feel myself being stripped away with it. Now, the shell was all that was left. And I still didn't know where to find this vampire from my past. I had no more direction. The journals, while they had given me so much, had failed to tell me what to do next.

“I'm part vampire.” All I could think to do was say it out loud. It was the only way to make it real, to force myself to come to terms with it. I looked up at Morvinus, his expression curious.

“What do I do with that?”

“What any of us would do. You find a way to live with it.” He held his hand out for me, bringing me into his embrace. “Vampire or human it matters not. I still love you, remember this.” He kissed me gingerly, taking my hands in his. “Come, let us find another lodging for the night and we can talk about our plan once we have had some proper rest and you have eaten something.”

All the questions made me dizzy but I didn't have the energy to flesh them out. I felt a pull in one direction, a tug that wouldn't let go, but I couldn't figure from which path it was originating. A dangerous state of mind to be in. Dangerous because it left me distracted when I shouldn't have been. And had I paid any attention at all outside of my own wallowing, I would have seen them coming. It wasn't until my arms were forced behind me, hands like ice binding my wrists together tightly, I even knew they were there. I tried to scream, tried to fight, but it was no use. Their grip like iron dragged me off, out of sight of Morvinus, and into the back of a vehicle. The last thing I saw was Morvinus through the rear window, a vampire at each arm, pushing him into another vehicle. Right before the world disappeared behind a curtain black fabric.

Continued in Part 10

---

Thanks for tuning in! Like what you see? Give it a like and share with your friends (every little bit helps and is much appreciated!). Head on over to my main page to see other chapters in this series and much more! And please consider becoming a subscriber (it's free!) to catch all my new work as it's released.

As always, I love hearing from, and interacting with, my readers. So, drop me your thoughts in the comments below!