Dangerous Love (8 page)

“I don’t know, my love,” Sheba whispered back as she gently wiped the blood from her lover’s face.
She never heard of this happening before. This… this was something completely new. Whatever her lover was now, she was the first of her kind. Turning her head, she looked over at the cup that lay on the floor. It had to be the liquid inside that cup that turned her mistress into this… creature before her. Letting go of the Pharaoh, she walked over to the cup and picked it up. She stared down into the dark remnants inside with a confused frown.

“
It’s blood,” the Pharaoh whispered from behind her. She jumped and whirled around, facing her lover as she held a hand over her heart. The blood covered ruler held her hand out and she gave her the cup, watching in fascination as the being before her sniffed at it.

“How do you know?” she asked. She resisted the urge to cringe as she watched her lover dip her finger into the liquid and lick it off. It frightened her to see a look of pleasure enter those crimson eyes and she fought the urge to take a step back.

“It tastes exactly like their blood, except sweeter… more innocent,” she said as she nodded toward the dead Priestesses. She fought the urge to lick the cup out and glanced up into her servant’s eyes almost accusatory.

Sheba held her hands up as she shook her head. That wasn’t what was supposed to be in the cup! She thought she was giving them exactly what they asked for. Her words tumbled out as she said, “I swear, my Pharaoh, I didn’t know. They instructed me to send a messenger to
a secret village and retrieve the juice of the acai berry. That’s exactly what I did. I didn’t know the cup contained blood!”

The Pharaoh stared at her for a moment before nodding her head. She could tell her lover was telling the truth. Something must’ve happened and either the village gave them the blood of an innocent, or someone switched the cups when they weren’t looking. Because of that, she was now a beast. Dropping the cup on the floor, she looked for a way to end her life. She didn’t want to live knowing she just took two innocent lives.

Sheba immediately understood what she was doing, and while she sympathized with her lover, she couldn’t let her take her life. She was much too important. Sending a small prayer toward the Gods of both her people and her lover’s people, she finally understood the knowledge she held secret for so long. Grabbing her Pharaoh’s arm, she said, “No, my love. I can’t let you kill yourself.”

“Why?” she demanded with a growl. Couldn’t she see the pain she was going through? She just took two lives, two innocent lives.
She shouldn’t be alive! She deserved to rot in the darkest pit of the underworld for what she did.

Sheba once again cupped her lover’s face and stared up into her eyes. She knew her lover was in pain and regretted what she did, but she couldn’t let her take her own life! Her gaze was firm as she said, “No, Cleo
patra. I can’t let you do that. You’re needed. This is what I was sent here for. You’re meant to survive and live. Someday, far into the future, you’ll be needed. I can’t tell you anything else, but you need to survive.”

The women were interrupted by the sound of shouting and pounding going on outside the door. They froze and looked at each other. The mob outside the door would kill Cleo if they found her like this!
Sheba quickly stripped out of her tunic and held it out to the Pharaoh. Her own body was covered in the same marks that were painted on her beloved Pharaoh’s body and she said firmly, “Put this on.”

“Sheba…” the young woman tried to argue. She wanted to let the mob find her! If anything, it would put an end to the guilt she was feeling. Maybe if she let them kill her, her soul would find peace. She tried to push the cloth away, but her lover shook her head.

“No, Cleo. You must live. Please, you must,” she said as she shook her head. She pushed the cloth into her hands and helped her get it over her head as she continued, “The Emperor of Japan’s wife, my old mistress, saw this day coming. She knew this would happen. She told me that the day would come when I would have to perform a great action for my new mistress. In return, you would someday do something that would change the course of mankind far into the future. You must continue to live, my love. The world will need you one day. It
has
to be you, Cleo.”

“Come with me,” she said as she clutched at Sheba’s shoulders. Her eyes were desperate. She was afraid of what she had become, and she didn’t want to be alone.
Bloody tears welled up in her eyes. She knew they were saying good bye and she didn’t want that! Tugging the young servant into her arms, she pleaded, “We’ll run away from here and live together. Please, come with me.”

“I can’t,” she murmured as she hugged her love back. As much as she wanted to, it wasn’t her destiny for that. Her destiny was to take her mistress’
place, to die as her so the world would be able to move on. Even though her heart was breaking, she couldn’t go with her. Pushing Cleo away from her, she said firmly, “Go! Now!”

Cleo clutched at her servant’s clothing with wide eyes filled with fear and hurt. She was turned into a monster and was forced into being alone. Her mind swam with confusion as she turn and ran out the back of the temple, fumbling
in the dress. Sheba stood there, her hands over her chest as tears poured down her face. The last thing Cleo heard before she burst out of the temple doors into the night was her love whispering, “We’ll meet again someday, my love.”

As Cleo fled into the night, Sheba wiped her tears away and turned around. Hidden behind the altar was a covered basket. Grabbing it, she walked over and sat down before the altar. Looking up at the ceiling, she said, “May the Gods watch over you always.”

With that, she pulled the top of the basket off and quickly grabbed what lay inside. As she pulled her hand out, a sharp hiss came with it. Carefully holding the snake by the head, she gazed into its eyes for a moment before forcing its mouth open. Deadly venom dripped from the fangs as she plunged it into her arm. Her body froze as pain spread through her like wildfire. As she slumped back, her heart beat already slowly, she gazed at the door where her love fled through. A single tear rolled down her cheek as her heart beat one last time, the snake’s venom killing her.

The night was dark and cold as Cleo fled, blood red tears slipping down her face. Within a matter of seconds she was far outside the city, the
fires from the houses just barely able to be seen. She stopped and swayed for a moment before dropping to her knees, a harsh, angry, pain filled scream filling the cold night air.

The scream, her scream, echoed in Vayna’s ears as she came back to the present, the memory receding into her mind. Turning on her heel, she left
Sage in the living room as she walked into the bedroom. She didn’t bother turning on a light, her eyes adjusting rapidly to the darkness as she made her way over to a blank expanse of a wall. Pressing on a switch, she waited as a hidden door swung open. Behind it was a small room the size of a broom closet. She switched on the light and flinched as it stung her eyes for a moment. In the middle of the room was a small table, and on the table a glass case.

Vayna walked over to the case and lightly pressed a switch. The top of the glass rose up and a soft hissing sound filled her ears. With a trembling hand, she reached
in and touched very carefully the ancient cloth that lay within. The dress of her first love. It lay remarkably well preserved for being as old as she was. She was very careful over the years to not let it be harmed. And thanks to modern technology, she no longer feared it being destroyed. It was the last piece of an ancient life that no longer existed. With a sigh, she closed the lid and left the small room, pausing long enough to make sure the hidden door closed.

Chapter 5

Sage was still sitting on the couch in Vayna’s living room, still staring blankly at the T.V. She didn’t hear the ancient vampire walk up behind her until she felt a set of chilled hands settle on her shoulders. Jumping, she turned her head and looked up into apologetic blue eyes as Vayna said quietly, “I’m sorry I was so short this morning.”

A small smile appeared on the human’s lips as she shook her head. There really was nothing for her to apologize about. It was she that needed to apologize. She was being way too forward with the ancient
vampire, especially since they were essentially still strangers. She absently pressed a kiss to the older woman’s fingers as she whispered, “I’m the one who should apologize. I let my curiosity get the better of me and I asked something I shouldn’t have.”

“
It’s fine, Sage,” she replied softly. She moved around the couch and sat down next to her human, smiling when the young woman moved to curl up into her side. Wrapping her arm around Sage’s shoulders, she said, “It… was a long time ago and I hadn’t thought about it in centuries. I forgot what happened and the pain I went through at that time. You asking that brought back memories I wasn’t prepared to remember.”

“You don’t have to tell me,”
Sage said as she gazed up into the vampire’s blue eyes. She gave a small, understanding smile as she leaned into her. She didn’t want to force the vampire into anything she didn’t want to do. Not only could she kill her if she really wanted to, but it wasn’t any of her business anyway.

“I may tell you some day,” Vayna replied as she gently squeezed her human’s shoulders. Nuzzling her nose into
Sage’s soft hair, she murmured, “I think we should go back to the park once the sun sets. We may find something else that will trigger your memory. Perhaps a clue as to whom you are.”

“Do you think so?”
Sage asked as she looked up at the vampire. To perhaps find out who she was… at least find a clue as to who she might be… Her grey eyes sparkled in excitement as she thought over the possibility of finally finding out more details about herself. She couldn’t remember anything yesterday evening when Vayna found her, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t remember something when they were there. After all, a good night’s sleep was supposed to help… wasn’t it?

Vayna nodded her head. She wasn’t sure if
Sage would remember anything at all, but it was all they knew at that moment. That tree was the only link they had to her human’s past and if they were going to ever find out anything about her, they couldn’t waste time sitting around. She smiled gently as she said, “It’s worth a shot. If anything, we’ll end up coming back here with nothing more than tired minds.”

Sage
bounded up off the couch, her excitement evident in the way she practically bounced on her heels. She looked at Vayna expectantly, as if waiting for something and vampire simply raised a questioning eyebrow at her. The young human gave her an exasperated look as she said, “Well, aren’t we going?”

Vayna glanced at the clock on the wall and shook her head.
Sage opened her mouth to ask why when she held up her hand and said, “It’s still daylight out there. Even if she didn’t hate you, I wouldn’t be able to go out there. As catching as your enthusiasm to begin is, we’ll have to wait until it grows darker. Or at least until the sunlight is below the buildings enough so I can walk around without catching on fire.”

“Ah… right,”
Sage said as she sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck. She forgot that Vayna was a vampire and couldn’t walk around in the sunlight. She was so excited about possibly finding out who she was that it completely slipped her mind. Sinking back down onto the couch, she snuggled back into Vayna’s side, much to the vampire’s amusement. She started to change the channels, looking for something interesting to watch.

The hours passed by quickly
while they waited. Soon enough it was dark out and the two set off walking down the street. Vayna surprised the young woman by grabbing her hand and tugging her close. She gave the excuse that it was so she wouldn’t lose the human to the crowd of people around, but Sage knew better. She merely smiled and moved closer to her vampire, trying hard to contain her excitement as they walked.

Vayna wasn’t quite as excited as her human. There was a chance that they wouldn’t find anything at all. Even if they did find something, or even if
Sage did remember something from her past, they couldn’t guarantee it was going to be anything that would lead them in the right direction. For all they knew Sage truly was a homeless woman with no surviving family left. Vayna just wasn’t feeling confident that they would find anything important, if they found anything at all. But she didn’t say this out loud. She kept her thoughts to herself and let young human have her excitement. It was much easier seeing her happy than seeing her depressed as they made their way toward the park.

The park seemed practically empty
as they made their way through it. Normally parks would be closed down after dark because of the dangers that lurked in them, but Central Park was still open to the public because of a concert being put on by a famous instrumental group. Vayna couldn’t recall what they were called, but she could hear the music from quite a ways away.

Before either one of them could realize it, they were already standing at the base of the tree looking up at it. Vayna placed a hand on her hip and simply looked at it. There really wasn’t anything special about the tree. It was just a tree, really. Tall, leafy, old, it looked like eve
ry other tree in the park. She couldn’t figure out why this tree was so special to her human lover. Sure, the view from it was amazing, but that didn’t explain why Sage seemed so fascinated with the tree. Indeed, even now the young human was staring up at the tree as if she never saw it before. Vayna blinked once before hurrying over to her human when Sage started to climb up the tree as she said, “Be careful. You could seriously hurt yourself.”

“I’ll be fine,” she replied with a laugh as she kept climbing. By the time she made it to the top, the sun was down completely and that area of the park was dark. She carefully sat down onto a branch of the tree and looked around. Something tugged at her mind, but she couldn’t figure out what. She almost fell out of the tree when a hand rested on her shoulder. Strong arms wrapped around her waist from behind and kept her from falling. Looking over her shoulder, her eyes widened as she took in the sight of Vayna hovering in the air behind her.
She stared at her vampire lover as she exclaimed, “Those are your wings?!”

Vayna wore an amused smile as her wings flapped to keep her in the air. The feathers were as black as the darkest night and the wing span was ve
ry wide, Sage noted. Her wings stretched at least 5 feet on either side of her. It amazed her that for being such big wings, they made very little sound as they moved. Almost as if they weren’t really there. Vayna helped her sit back up on the branch before carefully lowering herself down onto it. Once she was seated, her wings folded up against her back, looking for the entire world as if they belonged there all the time. Vayna rotated her arm, trying to work the kinks out of her shoulders as she said, “Yes, and they’re a pain to use. It hurts to… well, grow them I guess is what you could say.”

“What do you mean
grow them?” Sage asked as she gazed at them. Her fingers twitched as she fought the urge to reach out and touch the beautiful silky feathers. She would’ve loved nothing more than to run her fingers over those beautiful wings and see if they felt as soft as they looked.

Vayna sighed heavily. It was much easier to show the young human than explain to her. She groaned
mentally at the thought of pulling her wings out again, but decided it would be easier than trying to explain and possibly not getting anywhere in their search for Sage’s memory. Carefully balancing herself on the branch, she said, “Let me show you.”

Sage
turned and watched closely as Vayna flinched. Her wings started to slowly disappear, melting back into her skin. It was very painful because each little feather and bone transformed into skin and muscle tissue. The entire process would’ve made a younger vampire curl up into a ball and sob, but Vayna went through it so many times that it didn’t faze her anymore. Once her wings disappeared fully into her body, she slumped forward slightly and panted. She really hated doing that. But she hated what she was about to do more.

A groan escaped her lips as her wings began to reform, each piece forming out of the skin and bone on her back. It felt like someone was taking a dull razor and cutting her skin into pieces. She hated the feeling with a passion, which was why she didn’t use her wings all that often. Walking was so much easier anyway. Her eyes remained closed as she gripped the branch hard with her hands, her sharp nails digging into the wood, making little slices in the hard material. Her wings fluttered once, twice, and then remained still, curled up against her back.
Her body shook every now and then, the pain still traveling down through her back. It lessened as the time went by and she slowly was able to open her eyes and look down at the ground far below them.

Her head jerked up as she felt the slightest of strokes against her wings. Looking over at
Sage, she stared as the human reached out and softly trailed her fingers over each individual feather that she could reach. It made Vayna’s wings tremble, not from pain, but in delight at being touched. The vampire sat there unsure of what to do. No one ever touched her wings before. Not even her vampire lovers touched her wings. Most of them were intimidated by such large wings and she forced herself to keep them hidden when other vampires were around. They could react harshly to something they didn’t really understand. But Sage, this mere human woman was looking at them as if they were the most fascinating thing on the planet.

“I never knew black was such a pretty color for wings,” she said as she softly stroked her
vampire’s wings. She could easily tell that it pained her vampire lover to “grow them” as she called it, but they were such beautiful things that she couldn’t help but be entranced by them. She felt the soft trembles against her finger tips and looked at her vampire’s face to see if she was hurting her. She saw shock and a small bit of enjoyment in Vayna’s blue eyes and smiled softly at her. Looking back at her wings, she murmured, “They’re so soft…”

“No one…” Vayna murmured, clearing her throat when her voice came out scratchy. She was still in a state of shock at the other’s
light caresses to her wings. Most humans ran away from her when they saw her wings, fangs, and crimson eyes. Her mind couldn’t wrap around the fact that Sage was petting her wings! She licked her dry lips as she continued to speak, “No one’s ever touched them before. Most people are afraid of my wings. Most people are afraid of me.”

“I’m not most people,”
Sage replied quietly. How could she be afraid of the one person that was showing her more kindness than she ever expected? She may be a vampire, and a killer, but she was treating Sage as if she were made of precious glass and that endeared the vampire to her even more. She ran her fingers along the fragile bones in Vayna’s wings as she said, “I’m far from afraid of you.”

“I’m
not so certain you should be unafraid of me…” Vayna replied quietly. With the way the human kept surprising her, the vampire was growing more and more uncertain about what she was going to do. Less than 24 hours ago, she was willing to die, to take her own life and end the existence that was known as Vayna Chronos. But now that Sage came into her life, she found herself less and less likely to go through with that. She found herself wanting to keep the human close to her side, which was a dangerous thing. The last time she tried keeping someone close to her… mentally shaking her head, she said, “Have your recalled anything?”

Sage
wanted to ask what she meant by what she said, but didn’t dare. The vampire would tell her in time, she imagined. Pulling her hand back, she turned and looked out over the park toward the city. Silently shaking her head, she said, “I was distracted by a beautiful vampire’s wings.”

Vayna tsked lightly as she shook her own head.
A beautiful vampire’s wings? She hardly doubted that. She gently nudged her human’s shoulder as she said, “Well, a pretty little human like you shouldn’t let a big old vampire like me distract you.”

Sage
burst out laughing. Let her distract her? It wasn’t her fault that her vampire had such beautiful wings! She stuck her tongue out at Vayna before saying, “Oh, yes, because I
let
you distract me with your wings. And you’re quite beautiful for being an old vampire.”

Vayna chuckled at the immature action of her human and she shook her head. It was a strange feeling for her. She hadn’t felt this young in quite a long time, if ever. She could hardly remember being this carefree in the millenniums that she was alive. Of course, there were
fewer things for her to worry about in this day and age. She could easily remember the vampire scare back in the 1800’s. People went around digging up graves and staking corpses. It was rather hard for her kind back then, let alone her. People were more suspicious of their neighbors than they were now. Especially if said neighbors didn’t age. She could remember more than one torch bearing, pitchfork wielding mob chasing after her back in those days. Nowadays, humans were always looking for ways to become younger, so it wasn’t as noticeable if someone still looked young. And with her owning the whole building where she lived, it wasn’t quite as big of a deal.