CHAPTER TWELVE
We finished lunch, and Damien and Father excused themselves in order to discuss the travel plans for the envoy, so the five of us headed over to the library to study.
“So you just happened upon Damien in the woods?” Kate asked suspiciously.
“I’m going to have to go into the woods more often if that’s the case,” Rosa joked.
Letta probed. “How long were you out there before you informed us?”
“Just a few hours.”
“And…anything you want to tell us?” Letta asked with a smile, but her eyes were serious.
“No, we just wanted some time alone…to talk.”
“Talk, I see.” Kate raised an eyebrow.
“Oh!” El put her hand over her mouth. “Remember when we talked about how dangerous it was to feed from humans directly because it could be addicting? What if it’s a young vampire biting these villagers and that’s what’s happened?”
“Where did that come from, El?” I asked.
“I don’t know, it just popped into my mind.”
“He or she would have to be strong enough to be able to stop feeding before killing the person,” reasoned Rosa.
“And probably be about our age or a little older.” I was certain El had stumbled on to something.
“Your father will take care of it, don’t worry,” soothed Letta.
“Yes, he will have them killed, but if the vampire responsible could be isolated for a while, they would get better. The addiction would wear off like it did with Quinn and me. Maybe El could even help them,” I said.
“You don’t even know that’s what it is,” Rosa said. “Or is it one of those kinds of feelings you’re having about it?”
“I’m not sure. Maybe if we all concentrate together Kate and I will see something more.”
We hurried to the library and sat around the table at the far end of the room. We held hands to make the strongest connection possible. A bolt of energy slammed me into the back of my chair. When I closed my eyes I could see a room, small and dark except for a fire in the fireplace. A young man sat on a cot across from it with his head resting in his hands. I could feel the fear and sadness surrounding him, and in that moment, I knew we had to help him. The door opened, and in strode a tall dark-haired man wearing brown leather pants, a bronze long sleeved shirt, and a dark leather vest.
“So, are you willing to tell me all I wish to know, or shall I bring in your next victim?”
As he spoke he walked closer to the young man and was followed by a swordsman of incredible stature, almost the height of the door.
“It’s been days since you fed, so I know you won’t be able to resist. Tell us where to find the leaders of your kind and I will end your torment by killing you swiftly. My father and his followers died trying to extinguish your evil from this land, and I mean to avenge their deaths by finishing the job, no matter what I have to do. That I happened upon you feasting on a deer was a gift from the gods, their way of helping me in my effort. Sooner or later you’ll either talk or some of your kind will come out of hiding to end the plague you are creating; and I will use them to lead me back to, what my father called, your clan and put an end to your kind once and for all.”
Volator, I thought to myself.
The young man raised his head then and looked up.
“Do what you must. I am not from these parts and know no one. I have only been as I am for now these past three years and have no knowledge of these clans of yours or the leaders of which you speak. For all I know, I am the last of my kind. So either kill me or leave me alone with the horror which you have laid upon me.”
He was handsome - of course, most vampires are - with blond hair and light eyes I assumed were blue. He was very likely a made vampire, and a very rare type of vampire indeed.
I realized we needed to do several things now - pinpoint where they were, call back the warriors, and reinstruct the Watchers. First, the pinpointing.
“Kate, can you hear me?”
“Yes.”
“We need to find out exactly where they’re holding this man. You ‘see,’ while I seek the scent. The others will help.”
I took in a deep breath and tried to find them. I hoped Kate was having better luck, since I hadn’t smelled them before and my senses were becoming confused by all the other humans and vampires around.
“You’ll help us even without consent; you can’t stop yourself. Bring in supper for our young friend.”
The huge swordsman retreated and returned with a young girl no older than sixteen. The girl was sobbing, her hands tied in front of her. A thin dress clung to her small frame; her bare feet and dirty unkempt hair made me think she must have been held for some time. She trembled as the man pulled her forward to place her directly in front of the young vampire.
“I beg you, kill me instead,” the young man pleaded.
“If you don’t tell me what I want to know, you leave me no choice.”
And with that he pulled his dagger and cut the girl’s arm on the inside of her elbow, deep enough to let blood rush down her arm. As she screamed, he shoved her forward. He was right, there was no way the new vampire could stop himself from feeding like a ravenous animal. The swordsman had to turn away, but the other man watched intensely, as if sickeningly pleased by the sight.
Soon after the young vampire began feeding, the girl stopped crying and went into what I can only describe as a trance, after which she seemed to wobble and become faint. That’s when the man pulled her away and quickly headed for the door and handed the girl to the swordsman.
“Drop her at the mission gates like the others. We don’t want dead bodies that will turn the villagers into mobs. We only want to draw the vampires out. It says in my father’s journals, they protect themselves by taking care no one will draw attention to their kind like this.”
With that, he backed out the door, which he slammed behind him and locked.
“Got him,” said Kate. “I see him coming out of a stone two-story building that looks like it was once an inn or something. There’s an old sign on the front. It reads ‘Fair’ - no ‘Fardale’ - and a number two.”
“I think I know where that is,” I said to her, and I turned my gift toward that area. Yes, I smelled the bloodlust. Ten miles to the south there was an abandoned mill - that must be it! I didn’t sense a guard close by, which meant they were very sure of themselves, but if he wasn’t trained by his Volator father and only learned by reading his journals, he wouldn’t know much. For that matter, no human did.
Even most of what his father thought he knew was legend and completely wrong, but he did know we protected each other and knew enough to stop the feeding in time, so the victim wouldn’t die. He also knew how to draw us out, so we would fall into his trap. What he didn’t know was what kind of a fight he was in for.
“Okay, we’ve got it. Did everyone see what Kate and I saw?”
“No,” they all said, shaking their heads.
“Well, we’ll just have to explain later. I have to get to Father as fast as I can,” I rose.
Kate and I ran to Father’s office, where he was still speaking with Damien.
“Father, I need to speak with you at once. Kate and I have used our gifts to locate the rogue vampire but it’s complicated, so you need to trust us when we say you must call back the vampire guard right away, or we’ll all be in danger.”
“I’ll send word at once. What of the Watchers?”
“Tell them to watch the abandoned mill at Fardale and track those who come and go. We must find them all. They are Volator.”
I could see the shock on both Father and Damien’s faces. Father left then to make sure word was sent immediately, and Kate went back to the library to tell the girls.
“Damien, I need to know how much information Luena gave to the Volator leader before they attacked us.”
“She used her Watcher as a messenger, as far as I know, and only gave them enough information to be ab
le to attack your caravan.”
“Did she give names ahead of time? This is important.”
“It was to be a crime of opportunity. Her instructions were to get rid your father, but not to endanger the rest of us, so I don’t think names were important. Why?”
“This man we saw in our vision is the son of the leader you killed. His father left journals, which the son is using to exact his revenge, and effectively pick up where his father left off. His goal is to try to eradicate our race from the earth. So, not only must we find him, but we must find the journals as well.”
“I’ll do everything I can to help. What do you need?”
I had to stop a moment to think about it, and then it came to me. “Maybe you could go out to the mill with the Watchers. Once you see this man, you could put the idea into his mind that the journals are in danger of being stolen, so he will lead you to them. On second thought, I should go with you, because I’ve seen him.”
Kate came walking up behind me.
“Oh no, you’re not going anywhere without me this time. In fact, you promised all of us the next time we would all go together. You may need us,” she said defiantly.
“You’re right, but we should let the Watchers observe him for a couple of days, but no more,” I said.
“Why the rush?” Damien asked.
“Wait until Father returns and then Kate and I will tell you everything we saw.”
“And heard,” Kate added.
When Father returned, we told them all about our vision and the young vampire.
“You see, Father, it’s not his fault. They’re forcing him to feed on these helpless humans. He can’t help himself,” Kate said.
“This isn’t about him anymore, as much as it’s about the Volator,” Father said, “The journals must be recovered.”
“Katrina suggested I go with the Watchers and put a thought into his head that the journal is in danger of being lost, so he will lead us to it.”
“So, we’ll watch him for a few days to find out how many others are with him,” I added.
“No more than a couple of days, Father, or they will bring another victim,” Kate said.
“We’ll have to send Eleanor to the mission again, or they will figure out the herbs are not really working,” said Father. “We’ve assigned a Watcher to the mission, so we can follow whoever leaves that poor girl there. I’m glad you had this vision; how did it come about?”
“We…we just wanted to help, so we used our gifts of sight and scent to detect anything unusual, and this is what came to us,” I said and Kate nodded in agreement.
I caught a knowing look on Damien’s face and had to look away.
“Once again daughters, well done.”
Kate and I smiled at each other and felt relieved, hoping we had saved the young vampire and protected all of us.
“We’d better get back to the library. The girls will be wondering what’s going on. I didn’t have much time earlier,” Kate said.
“I’ll be right there,” I said.
“Father, the girls and I want to be included in any plans to eliminate the Volator.”
“All right, you’ve earned it, I promise. Be ready, because we may have to move at any time. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have much to attend to.”
He walked out, but the conversation continued.
“So what really made you look for this rogue?” Damien said.
“I think by the look on your face earlier, you figured that out. It just occurred to us it could be a young vampire that got addicted to the blood-lust and couldn’t stop, but I had no idea we’d ‘see’ what we did. Can you imagine what that poor, young man is going through? From what he said in our vision, he’s been alone as a new vampire for three years. It’s amazing.”
“You seem infatuated with him already. Should I be jealous?”
“Jealous of what; a vision? I just think he deserves a chance.”
“He’s going to need a lot of help to recover from this, as well as some training. There’s no way of knowing if he will ever fully recover.”
“This vampire is special, I can feel it. He’ll make it if we can get him out of there.”
“You saved me,” Damien said as he came close and kissed me on the forehead.
“I think you can do better than that,” I said, looking up into his intoxicating brown eyes.
He leaned down and met my lips in such a gentle loving kiss; it sent shivers up my spine. As I ran my hands up his chest and around his neck, the kiss turned more urgent and I felt tingles in other places too.
As the kiss broke I said, “That was definitely better, ummh.”
He gave me another short kiss. “I aim to please; you have only to ask.”
“I’d better get back. Care to walk with me?”
“It would be my pleasure. After you, my Lady.”
We walked back toward the library hand in hand.
“I’ll see you at dinner,” he said and kissed me goodbye.
I sighed as I walked away wishing things weren’t always so complicated.
“Did you have a nice ‘chat’ with Damien?” Rosa asked, there was that look again.
“Very nice.” Just for their benefit, I put my hand to my head and faked a swoon.
“Well while you were ‘chatting’ I was telling everyone what Father said about the things we learned in our vision,” Kate said.
“Father agreed to include us in any plans to go against the Volator. He said we’d earned it.” She paused and looked at each of us for encouragement, before she began again. No one knows how talented we really are individually and together how powerful, and I still think it’s important to keep that to ourselves, at least for now.”
In turn, we all pledged that for now, we would keep our abilities a secret.
Kate began to pace as she continued. “I can’t stop thinking about the young vampire we saw and how he begged that man to kill him. It’s apparent that he’d rather die than continue feeding off those defenseless humans. It’s so awful, we have to help him as soon as possible.” It was obvious she was emotionally invested in this situation.
“Father promised we’d move before they make him do that again,” I could see how upset she was.
“Anyone for some work at the training ground?” asked Letta.
“Count us in, we need to be ready,” El had moved to stand by Kate and was patting her arm.
El was the compassionate one. I asked her. “Did Kate tell you you’ll have to go back to the mission tomorrow? That young girl needs your help.”
“Poor thing, but since I told Father Jonas to send word if there were any more victims, I probably should wait until he does. He might get suspicious if I just show up.”
“If he doesn’t send word tomorrow, we’ll think of something you have to bring to him, to cover up the fact you know he has another sick girl,” Kate smiled at El as she offered the suggestion.
We walked to the training area for a complete weapons workout with swords, daggers, and spears, then we included training sessions on horseback and in groups, an exhausting regimen.
We rested after our workout, our forms littering the ground in various poses under a shade tree.
“Spending hours training sure makes you smelly,” Kate said as she sniffed herself, her nose wrinkling.
“To think,” Rose sat up and struck a simpering pose. “I used to just glow if I overexerted myself by, say. . . walking too fast or dancing with too much energy, at the very worst I perspired a little. Now I’ve progressed right through to stink,” she flopped down laughing.
“Have our lives taken a turn, or what?” El joined in, laughing and shaking her head.
“I don’t know about the rest of you, but having a purpose in life is exhilarating,” Letta now serious, voiced what we’d all thought at one time or another since we’d come together.
“You’re right,” agreed Rosa. “Before, it seemed as if my days just ran together, but that life seems so useless n
ow.”
“Well, that’s all changed forever. We were meant to come together for a reason; I can feel it,” I said looking at each of them in turn.
“I think we all can,” El rose. It was time to walk back.
“I hope Sarah has our baths ready,” Kate said as she stood.
“And a snack. I’m starving and we can’t hunt until we’re sure it’s safe,” my attitude now matched the seriousness of our situation.
Sure enough, as we got close to our apartment we could see water being carried in and empty buckets carried out.
“I love Sarah,” I sighed.
“Me too,” joined the others in unison.
I reveled in the hot, sweet water as I soaked in bubbles up to my chin. I normally would be calling to Damien, but today he was here, and I would see him in a little while, so I just relaxed and washed the day from my skin.
After Sarah was done complaining about my hair as she washed it, I brushed it with almond oil until it was soft and tangle-free. I dressed in a simple, but sexy dress of sage-green silk, featuring an empire waist with a square neckline. I smiled at my reflection, I looked good and the dress showed just the right amount of cleavage.
The sun was low in the west, and the breeze made the shadows cast from the forest dance across the ground. My thoughts went, once again, to the imprisoned young man I had seen earlier today. He’d looked so hopeless, but it was the anguish radiating from him that still stuck in my mind.
I wished I could assure him help was coming. I began to concentrate on his face as hard as I could. I wanted to see him again. “Show me,” I said to myself, and then there he was, this time standing in front of the small fire, just staring into it. I wished I knew his name.
“It’s going to be all right,” I said to him with my mind.
He looked up and then all around, as if startled by something, as if he’d heard me! That wasn’t possible; made vampires didn’t have gifts, did they?
“Hang on a little longer; help will come soon,” I said, concentrating as hard as I could.
He looked around again. It was true; he had heard me!
“Who are you? Where are you?” he said aloud.
“I’m a friend. Don’t be afraid; you have a vampire gift that allows my mind to talk to yours. That gift makes you very special.”
“Ha!” he laughed out loud. “Very special - that’s a laugh. I’m a freak; a monster.”
“No, no you’re not. What’s happened to you is not your fault. Please just hang on a little longer. What’s your name?”
“Eric,” he replied.
“Well, Eric, although I can’t tell you my name yet, I will try to send you my image.”
I concentrated on the reflection I just saw in the mirror and then on him.
“You’re beautiful! But how did you find me?”
“I can’t tell you anything more right now. Have faith in me Eric, just for a few more days. Be strong. Now I have to go.”
“No, please don’t leave.”
“I’ll contact you soon.”
“That was amazing!” I said to no one in particular.
“What was amazing?” Kate asked.
“I was worried about the young vampire, so I looked for him and there he was.”
“So he’s all right?”
“Yes, he’s all right, and you won’t believe this, but he heard me. His mind actually heard me.”
“You’re kidding. Didn’t it freak him out?”
“Of course, at first, and that’s what he called himself, a freak and a monster. I just wanted him to know help was coming and for him to hang on a little longer. Oh, and I found out his name is Eric.”
“Eric? You’re right, Kat, this is amazing. I hope he feels a little bit better now, thanks to you.”
“I do too.”
“Katrina, please come in so I can do your hair, it must be dry by now,” Sarah called.
Kate laughed, “Well, you have your orders; you’d better go.”
Sarah dressed my hair, this time by rolling the sides back and pinning them with an enamel pin matching my dress.
“Thank you, Sarah.”
“Now be off, or you’ll be late for dinner.”
The five of us left for the dining room, the ‘beauty patrol,’ as Gunter called us. I was looking forward to seeing Damien, but there was a young man alone, in a small room, not far away, who was filling my thoughts. He was also all anyone wanted to talk about at dinner.
“It’s too bad there’s no way to tell him that help is on the way,” Damien said.
“Oh, Katrina took care of that,” Kate said.
I shot her an angry look.
“What does Katherine mean, Katrina?” Father said.
“Well…” I said, still glaring at Kate. She had her head down, avoiding eye contact with me.
“Something quite unexpected happened this afternoon,” I said, knowing what I was about to say was going to hurt Damien, as speaking with each other with our minds had been our secret, something we shared alone until now.
“I decided to see if I could look in on him; I found that physically he was the same, but he was in such anguish about his situation, I wanted to assure him help was on the way.” I looked around before I said, “I projected from my mind to his “help is coming”. I spoke to him and to my astonishment he seemed to hear me! I told him not to be afraid, I was a friend, and he just had to hang on a little longer.”
“And she found out his name is Eric,” interjected Kate, and then looked back down.
“This young man is definitely unique,” Mother said. “A made vampire that’s existed on his own, seemingly living as we do and now showing signs of having a gift.”
This news left everyone shaking their heads. Damien wouldn’t look at me; I reached my right hand out under the table and placed it on his knee. When he didn’t respond, my heart sank, knowing he was saddened by the disclosure that I was able to communicate with someone else in our secret way. I didn’t take my hand away; instead I slowly moved it up his thigh. He was calling my bluff, and now I had to follow through, so I continued to move my hand slowly up his thigh. As I advanced, to my surprise he still didn’t stop me. Just then dessert arrived, and as I started to pull my hand away, Damien placed his hand over mine and gave it a squeeze. I smiled and turned my head to look at him, but he still wouldn’t look back.
“I’m glad you were able to call back your forces in time, Fredrik,” Damien said.
I pulled my hand away then and started to enjoy my dessert.
“Yes, and we have Watchers in place.” He looked to us. “You must be ready to join them at any moment, starting tomorrow, so we can put our plan into action.”
“We’re ready, Father,” Kate said.
“You’re sure they’re ready, Fredrik?” Mother said, fearfully.
“Gunter assures me they are, and Katrina of course has proven herself for some time now, as Damien can attest; isn’t that right, Damien?”
“I’d trust my life to her,” he said.
Then it was my turn not to look at him.
“We’re ready,” I said emphatically. As I looked at each girl, they nodded in agreement.
“I hope you can rid us of the latest drama quickly,” Mother said. “If not, we’ll have to warn the Council and guests set to arrive sooner than ten days from now.”
I had completely forgotten about all of that. Once Damien was here, the others didn’t really matter to me.
“Father, it can’t be just a coincidence the Volator turned up here after attacking us in Austria, can it? I would like to try to find the Volator we saw in our vision. At the very least it could save us some time, and at the most we will see this journal or hear if there are changes to this plan or additional dangers.”
“Absolutely; go ahead and try Katrina,” encouraged Father.
“I’ll go right now. I’ll let you know what happens.”
“Do you want us to help you?” Kate asked.
; “Let me try alone first. I think you’ve helped enough for one night,” I glared at her.
“Damien, may I speak with you for a minute?”
“Of course. If you’ll excuse us,” he said, as we rose to leave.
When we got outside, I asked Damien a question.
“Do you think you can put a suggestion into someone’s mind from long distance?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never tried.”
“Well, let’s try tonight. I know we’re stronger together than apart.”
We walked into the library and pulled two chairs together, facing each other.
“Hold my hands. I’ll send you the image of the Volator we saw; then if we both concentrate on his image, we should be able to find him. If we can’t pinpoint him, we’ll ask Kate to join us.”
Then I closed my eyes and brought the image of the Volator to my mind and sent it to Damien.
“Got it,” he acknowledged.
After several minutes of concentrating together the vision started to form. The man was standing outside some kind of shop; he seemed to be waiting for someone. He paced back and forth for some time before he was joined by another man, not the huge swordsman from before, but someone else.
“About time,” he said to the new arrival. “Well, did you find anything new? My father’s journal says he was going to journey to Romania again to follow up on a lead. We know he disappeared somewhere between here and there, with about twenty-five other Volator. The fact that we happened to come across our young friend not far from here, must mean there are others, and Father’s journals have told me how we might draw them out.”
“There are so few of us left, Weldon; maybe we need to wait until we can build up our force. Ten of us are not going to be enough to subdue and kill these creatures. Besides, maybe the boy is telling us the truth. It could be true he’s alone, and there are no others.”
“All right, if nothing happens in the next two days we’ll get rid of him and move on.”
“Okay, Damien, try to put the idea into his mind about the journal. He needs to look at the journal.”
After a few seconds, I could see the man’s expression change.
“I think it’s working, Damien. Keep it up.”
“I need to go check on something in my room. Where are the others?”
“They’re camped outside of the village, in the woods.”
“Did Carl drop the girl at the mission as he was told?”
“Yes, and he should be back at camp soon.”
“I’ll meet you there tomorrow afternoon. We’ll get reports and make our plans.”
They parted. The one named Weldon climbed the stairs on the outside of what we now could see was a beer hall. The vision let us follow him up the stairs, into the building and down a hallway to a room at the very end. He took a key from his pocket and unlocked the dark wooden door with the number 5 carved crudely into it, and went inside. The room was simple, lit by a single oil lamp. We could see it contained a small bed with an iron headboard, a washstand and one wooden chair. He looked around, stepped to the window, looked around, then went to the bed, lifted the mattress, and pulled out what looked like a large, leather-bound book. He opened the book, checked several pages, then closed it and put it back under the mattress. Apparently satisfied the book was safe, he left the room, and after relocking the door went downstairs and into the beer hall.
“We did it,” I said. I jumped up and hugged Damien and gave him a quick kiss.
“Let’s go tell your father. We should be able to finish this tomorrow.”
After one last kiss and we left the library and flashed out into the night.