F.D. (Ch.8)

Lori woke up to find herself in a familiar room, lying on a familiar bed. The familiarity of the scene accosted her and made her panic, until she remembered Christan was no longer alive. She relaxed, but then, she faintly remembered a man. Who was he? She sat up, a little dizzy, and her burns unpleasantly aching. Looking around her, she saw the young vampire boy who had so hurriedly shut the door in her face. She got up and went over to him, looking at him curiously. His dark hair was scraggly and unclean, but his face was pure, innocent, young. She knew better. For all she knew, he could be a master of his trade. The door to the bedroom was unlocked, and she peered out. On either side of the hallway were vampires, milling about, waiting. She stepped out of the room and tried to walk as if she had walked down that hallway a million times before, but a strong hand grabbed her shoulder, making tears jump into her eyes as the pain ripped through her skin.

            “I don’t think you should walk out of that room alone, miss.” She turned around. He looked familiar, and his smile melted her heart.

            “I…I…”

            “It’s alright. If the Tremors see you with me, you’ll be fine.” He sounded so nice, so peaceful, but Tremors? She was trudging through dangerous ground. She knew that. Should she escape, go back to her coven? But Queen Andréa had been so harsh with her! The stranger before her held out his hand and she took it. There was no going back now. He brought her to a small opening in the hall where he guided her through it, stepping in after her and closing the opening with a wave of his hand. Small candles lit the room, and the walls were made of stone. It reminded her of the room Chance had brought her too while she was still human. “You must have a lot of questions. Please, sit down.” He motioned her to sit on a purple plush chair in the middle of the room. Nothing else was there but another chair, a nightstand table, and a bookshelf with few books on it.

            “What’s your name?” Lori asked as she sat down. She was still feeling uneasy about abandoning her coven, but then she had to tell herself that Queen Andréa had abandoned her first.

            “Thelonious. I have an idea who you are. I believe you’re the one who killed Christan?” Lori nodded her head. What was the point in lying?

            “I’m here because I’m not welcome with my people anymore. I’m not sure why. Queen Andréa, she…” Lori’s eyes began to water, and she closed them, trying to shield the hot tears from spilling out from her closed eyelids.

            “Lori, the time has come for you to make a decision. You wouldn’t have come here, to us, if you didn’t feel betrayed by your own people. What I need to know is if you are willing to help us in order to create supreme power.” Thelonious put his folded hands to his chin and rested it there. He was fairly sure she would comply. Lori was a weak creature, incapable of any powers to over throw him.

            “Yes, I am willing, but what exactly will I be doing? The coven had me lay in bed all day and all night. I don’t eat, and I’m really of no value anymore.” Her eyes were downcast, and a left over tear fell on her beat up boots.

            “Of course you’re of value. Don’t degrade yourself.”

            “What can I possibly do?” Lori was searching his face desperately. Since had she become so dependant on someone’s good thoughts of her? She was seeking his approval; needed his approval. Thelonious merely laughed.

            “My good, dear Burrow! Don’t you see your value?”

            “I’m afraid I don’t.” Thelonious stood up and walked over to her, kneeling down and taking up her hand.

            “You are an asset to the outside world. You can lead people to us, gather more warriors, in trust safety to those who are non-believing! Don’t you see? You’re every bit as valuable as any of us.” His eyes penetrated her face, his fingers playing with the tips of hers. Lori’s eyes were sparkling with satisfaction.

            “Thank you, Thelonious. That means a great deal to me.” He smiled, showing his white smile and his two fangs. Lori’s heart shuttered. Vampires…

            “I expect you’ll want to apologize to me after you leave, so you might as well do it now, Christan.” Christan sat leaning on a cold windowpane, staring out into the cold, bleak rain. Josh must’ve dozed off because he was now back in the small flat where Christan and his mother had lived. It was late in the day and the sun was beginning to set, Josh feeling the tension vibrating off of the two of them. Christan turned and faced his mother, his face drawn back, almost like someone was pinching his skin tight around his muscles. His eyes squinted in anger, and Josh stepping back, new full well what was to come.

            “Mother, I suppose it never occurred to you that you’re not the only one alive that means anything.” His voice was bitter, and his mother leaned on a side table as if she had been stabbed repeatedly in the heart. “Oh, please!” Christan continued, hot tears beginning to run down his face, “You’ve never been happy with me, ever! The only reason I’m here is because you’re an old maid with no husband and no one to do anything for you! You expect me to wait on you hand and foot because no else will!” Christan was at the point of screaming now; his mother’s tears a stream of clear liquid down her face, her hands trembling. “All I’ve ever wanted was for you to love me!”

            “Oh, Christan!” She sobbed with her arms open wide. He ran over to her and they embraced. “You’re my son! I love you more than anything!” He pulled away and stroked his mother’s graying hair.

            “I love you, too.”

            “Promise me, Christan,” she smiled warmly, “that if you meet a cute girl down where Lord Shavor lives and you get married, if, by any chance you have a girl, name her Jessame.” Christan held onto his mother’s shoulders and smiled a huge smile.

            “Of course I will.” Their brief embrace was concluded when the front door burst open and the small stars that twinkled in the sky flooded in the hallway with the light they gave. Christan stood in front his mother, trying to protect her. He couldn’t make out the figure in the doorway. Josh was standing close to the intruder. He was young with shiny, short black hair, and eyes as black as the darkened night. The stranger smiled, and Josh gasped. A vampire!

            “Hello, Jessame. Christan. How are you this evening?” Christan, still guarding his mother, peered out to catch a glimpse of the man’s face, his accent seeming to be French.

            “Who are you?” Christan tried to sound foreboding, but his voice quivered and cracked.

            “How clumsy of me! I am Lord Shavor. Now, enough nonsense; shall we be going the easy way, Christan, or the hard way?” Christan inched closer, drawn to the man, but unaware that he was so.

            “I don’t understand you.” Lord Shavor held out his hand for Christan, and Christan, looking back at his mother, took it.

            “You really are a good looking boy.” Lord Shavor smiled. Christan made out two teeth that were quite longer than the other, that were quite sharper. He tried to pull away when he realized Lord Shavor’s gaze rested on his mother, her eyes wide with fear. Lord Shavor shoved Christan out of the way; rendering him unconscious as he flew back against the glass door and quickly appeared by the side of his mother. She was screaming, but it soon subsided, as before his eyes shut into a dark hole, Christan saw his mother’s life sucked away from her by the powerful beast at her neck.

            “When am I to begin helping, or working…whichever you would like to call it.” Lori’s voice, to Thelonious, sounded like a sweet songbird. He laughed, showing his teeth once more.

            “My dear, you are helping now, more than you know.” They looked at one another, their eyes creating deep forges in each other’s memories. What was happening? Lori wanted to know why she felt like she was betraying her coven, and why she felt like she was at home all at the same time. A tear slipped from her and Thelonious, so gentle in his composure, quickly wiped it away, kissing her scarred and burnt face before he made to leave. His lips were soft and cool, and felt better on her skin than any ointment she had ever received. She grabbed onto his neck, startling him, but soon, together, Thelonious and Lori found passion they didn’t think existed for either of them.