Melabeth Forgive Me, For I Am Sin! (17 page)

"Yea, like yesterday," Alice quipped.

"To this life. Too much too fast, but I haven’t ignored all you have said. Like the fact I am like no other vampire. Living in a city of vampires, I have witnessed firsthand what you have said, but did not understand.

Any vampire under a hundred, like Michael and Lea, would never go outside during the day. They would
n't risk bursting into flames for they are not strong enough. And even the older vampires like Charlotte and Ezra don’t take to the sun as easily as I do. When we first met, you remarked on my strength and speed, and I know I am faster and stronger than Ezra now.”

Alice added, “I do believe you are as fast and strong as me. Of course no matter how much you grow, you will never match my beauty.”

“Oh, for sure,” we both laughed.

After we stopped giggling, Alice took notice of my tin case. She inquired, “What have we brought with us?”

I went serious, “I think it’s time I start investigating my own death and stop leaving it to others. I need to find out where and who these men are. I also need to know more about what I am… I know Nicks doesn’t want me to know, but I will take my chances.”

Alice grinned, “It’s about time.”

I continued, “This is a film case. In it, is a movie, a movie of my death. I have not let anyone watch it, not even myself. There could be clues in it; David thought so, but he understood my reasons for not allowing him or the detective to see it.”

Alice’s face went all slack, as she regarded the tin case. She had a look of horror as her eyes locked upon it. With a small voice, “You don’t want me… to watch it?”

I shrugged, “I can’t watch it by myself; if not you… there is no one else.”

Alice’s eyes moved from the tin case to my face then back again. She fell onto the couch and with deep surrender in her eyes said, “I’ll call room service for a projector. I better get a bottle of wine, scratch that, a case.” She gave me one of her best devilish grins, “Why don’t you be a dear and go pop some popcorn?”

I narrowed my eyes at her, “Shut the hell up.” Alice just laughed.

Me and Alice chatted about the council and The Order. In moments like these you could really see Alice’s true age. I had begun to notice that she was more and more like this, when it was just the two of us. It made me wonder two things, was it the blood or the fact that I could see around all her mind control? I don’t know if I would ever really know, but the more I was with Alice, the more I trusted her. She was crazy, but she was loyal to no end.

A knock at the door and a few minutes later Alice was setting up a projector. She chilled some of the wine and prepared us some glasses. Alice told me, “Not long after I met you, I started my own investigations into your murder. After you found and killed Devon I had more to go on. Still I had never found a buyer.”

I asked, “A buyer, for what?”

She shook her head slowly, “Your bad movie, silly. As far as I know, no one has bought this film. That means this is the only copy. If not for sale, then why make it?”

I didn’t have an answer, but I guessed, “Maybe they did sell it, and we just haven’t found out to whom.”

Alice put her finger to her chin, “Maybe.” She then handed me a glass of wine and asked me. “If that were the case, if they just made the movie for sale… did they wear masks?"

“No.”

“They all worked for The Order. They couldn’t afford for a copy to get into the wrong hands. David had to check some of the copies when he was stealing the tapes out of Devon’s house. I remember him saying he only watched a minute of it. In that time he clearly saw you and Devon. As much as I don’t want to watch this, I will admit I am curious. We must watch it carefully, in the background and every word that is said.”

I swigged a big drink of my wine. My voice rattled, “Ok... I’m ready.”

Alice refilled my glass; then softly added, “Let’s try to stay sober until after the movie.”

My voice cracked a little, “Ok, but after we drink the whole case.”

She sat next to me and gently rubbed my shoulder, “Are you sure?”

All I could do was nod. Alice said, “Ok, but if you can’t finish it… nothing to be ashamed of.”

Alice got up and flipped the lights off, sat back down next to me. Putting one arm around me, she used her free hand to start the projector. The lights flickered to life as the white and black flashes came to life on the wall.

As the film began, my eyes stayed glued to the screen. The movie started with me on my knees, in the middle of the bed. My eyes were wide and my face was smeared with tears. As I looked upon my own eyes, they were devoid of emotion… broken, past fear. One of the Smith brothers came to the bed first and grabbed hold of me.

My eyes blurred as the tears began to fall down my cheek. My eyes were unblinking as the images passed in front of me, yet I could not make out what was on the screen as my own tears rolled off my face. The tears fell, some down my neck, while others escaped my face and fell to my shirt. My tears were blood… the thought passed in the back of my mind; my outfit was ruined.

My chest tightened, and, if I were to have a heart, I might have thought I was having a heart attack. I found it hard to breathe
, but remembered I didn’t need to. My screams filled my ears; they were coming from the film. I could feel the pain, my pain. I could also hear the men laughing and speaking, but what they said I could not make out in my grief.

The world was tilted; it took me a few seconds to realize I could no longer see the screen. In front of my eyes just a few inches away was a hand. It took me a few more moments to realize it was not my hand, but Alice’s. My tears now ran as free as a river, and the sobs filled my ears. They were not sobs from the movie, but from me. The movie went on forever, and, as it did, I felt like I was having an out of body experience.

The movie stopped; Alice picked me up like I weighed nothing. She moved me into her room and gently laid me upon her bed. Laying a blanket on me, she left me without a word. I lay there, face stained with blood, but no more tears.

The hate slowly started to fill my heart and replace the pain.

After awhile, I washed up and then joined Alice in the living room. She sat quietly sipping on a glass of wine, deep in thought. I broke the silence, “I missed everything. Did you see anything?”

Alice gently swirled the wine in her glass as she stared at the wall. I wasn’t sure she heard me, but she hushed me when I began to repeat myself. After a few more seconds, Alice’s eyes shifted to me, “You have to watch it.”

I felt the horror rise in me. I protested, “I don’t know if I can.”

Alice shook her head, “You have to…not the whole thing, just the end.”

My voice was weak, “If you say so.”

Alice went over to the projector and started it. I didn’t sit; I let my hate well up in me. It kept the tears at bay so that I could watch the film play. Alice started it at the end…my end that is. Alex was on top of me choking the life out of me. I watched myself die; what a strange thing to see.

My anger was a dam that held back the flood of pain. I watched as Alex rose off my dead body. The camera panned back, and, for the first time, I noticed something other than myself being destroyed. Under the bed were markings on the floor, symbols drawn in red. A red circle with hundreds of symbols all lay within the circle. I now looked at all the things in the background instead of the act playing out on the bed. There were symbols on the walls, some in red, some in black. Some of the symbols appeared to be glowing.

Then one of the Smith brothers handed Alex a large knife. I watched in wonder as he plunged this huge knife into my dead chest. He proceeded to carve my body open. Being a vampire I was no longer bothered by the butchering of flesh, but my hand found its way to my chest. My eyes were glued to the screen. He cut and cut, then laid the knife off to one side. Reaching down into my chest, he pulled my heart out.

Jason came over with a large golden goblet; Alex squeezed the blood from my heart into the goblet. He then took the goblet from Jason; as Jason moved out of the camera’s range, Alex began to chant. He held the goblet with both hands out in front of him. His chanting sped up.  At the same time it increased in volume. The goblet started to overflow with blood as if it were being filled. I watched as the blood ran over the top of the goblet and onto the floor; the symbols were now ablaze with red light.

When Alex stopped chanting, the cup stopped overflowing. He then brought the goblet to his lips and began to drink.

Then one of the Smith brothers came over and drank. He was shortly followed by his brother, then Jason and finally Devon. They were all naked expect for Devon as they formed a circle around the bed and my dead body. They began to chant, and I watched in horror as my body melted like wax. It looked as if someone took white and red wax and poured it upon the bed. The room darkened, and the symbols burned with light.

In the background my eyes caught something, but I was distracted by the screaming coming from the movie. All the men had broken from the circle and were writhing in pain. They were screaming, which was shortly followed by throwing up of blood.

Devon stood up and wiped his mouth with the back of his sleeve. With anger in his eyes he growled, “Alex what have you done? How did you screw up the spell?”

I couldn’t tell from the film who was talking, but one of the other men said, “Does that mean we’re not immortal then?”

Alex growled with anger, “I did the spell right… I followed the book to the letter.”

Jason, who looked less affected than the rest of them, mumbled, “You missed something.”

Alex whipped his head toward Jason, then barked out, “What did you say?”

Devon, using a calmer voice said, “Stop it. He’s right, we screwed something up. Was she a virgin?”

One of the Smith brothers joked, “She wasn’t when I was done with her.”

Alex said in a low voice, “She needed to be a virgin before we brought her into the circle. We believed she was.”

Devon asked, “What will happen if she wasn’t?”

Alex barked, “Turn off that camera.”

Devon walked toward the screen then, off camera, the film went black. The next sound was the projector slapping the last of the film as is spun. I looked over at Alice, “Rewind it.”

Alice angled her head, “Why?”

I simply said, “I saw something. Take the film back right before I melted.”

Alice nodded, “Not a problem.”

I asked, “Can you move it one frame at a time?”

“Yes.”

As she did, I watched in the background for the image I thought I saw. I yelled out, “Stop… that’s it.”

Alice asked confused, “It… what? I don’t see anything.”

I explained, “Look into the background. Look where the red glowing symbols on the wall are. See where two red dots are; now look at the shadows around the dots.”

Alice gasped, “It looks like a face of a man.”

I shook my head, “Not a man… Nicks.”

Alice added, "You weren't a virgin."

I nodded, "I know."

クリスマス

After watching the movie of my death, I had to get something to drink. Me and Alice went down to the casino and lured a few men back to our rooms. We didn’t kill them, but the casino still had to send men up to take them away.

We were both just sitting in Alice’s living room. We hadn’t really talked  since the end of the movie. I announced, “I probably should get going.  Me and David are leaving for New York tomorrow night.” I added with a hollow laugh, “I hope his dad doesn’t mind vampires.”

Alice was looking at a magazine.  She didn’t look at me when she remarked, “No worries there.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Alice lowered her magazine as she made eye contact with me. She explained, “Well sweetie, you are no vampire.” She went back to her magazine.

“Then what am I?”

She shrugged, “Hell if I know.” I started to leave when she added. “I drank your blood.”

I turned to look at her; she was staring at me with a blank expression, “And?”

“I do believe me and Dolly are in for the long haul. I’ve lived for so long, long enough to know when trouble is starting. Don’t worry… we are sisters. I will stand with you.”

A small weight lifted off me. I softly said, “You’re right, I am not a vampire, but I am glad you are my sister.”

Alice laughed, “Enough of this mushy shit. You know I just realized something.”

“What?”

Alice got up and walked over to me, “I know how you feel, and I know where you are. I always do ever since I drank your blood. If you were to practice you should be able to do the same with me. What I realized was, that there are times I don’t know where you are, or how you feel, like a few days ago when you were on the island; you disappeared from me. Did you go to that library you told me about?”

“Yes.”

Alice nodded her head, “Well you better get ready. I am not sure what it means, but I bet you will find out, or die trying.”

I smiled then gave her a hug, “See you in a week or so. I will practice trying to find you.”

Alice giggled, “Have time for a quick tea party?”

T
he room grew in size, with giant columns. We were now standing inside the most magnificent cathedral with giant white walls decorated with hundreds of paintings and even more statues. Little animals scurried across the floor, and I came to realize the ground was grass. Plants and vines grew up the side of the building; the whole thing was breathtaking, and I found myself wearing a beautiful gown while Alice prepared the tea.

I smiled as the sun shown down far above me for there was no roof, just walls. There were hundreds of stained glass windows in the walls. I looked over at Alice in her beautiful dress as she glided toward me with tea in hand. I simply said, “I do believe I can spare a minute.”

Alice smiled, “Tea?”

“Why thank you.”

*                 *                    *

I slept well; for the first time in a long time I didn’t have that same nightmare of Aaron. I did have a small nightmare of my murder, but I expected it. It was the same nightmare I had since I was murdered, and I just watched the film of my killing; talk about pouring salt into a wound.

The question that was running through my head as I hurried through the airport with David was; did my nightmare of Aaron quit because of the reminder of my own death, or did it quit because I now knew I was no longer going to hunt The Order? Of course I dreaded that conversation with David. It seemed like I was a small ship being pushed by a large storm for it was no time at all before I was sitting next to David as the plane lifted off the ground.

One thing I always liked about David was that he respected my silence. He said very little as my mind spun around and around. As the plane grew quiet and the roar of the engines filled my ears, my mind calmed. My path was easier; hunt down my killers then kill them. I was not going to worry about Michael; I was going to deal with David. I did better when I had a plan and knew the direction I was heading in.

David asked, “Can we talk?”

“Sure, what’s on your mind?”

David took my hand and then said, “I could ask you the same thing. Look, I know you have a lot on your mind. I have an idea; let’s take it all down a notch this Christmas. No magic, no Order, just Christmas. What do you think?”

I smiled and honestly answered, “That sounds like a good idea to me.”

David went on, “I bought you a small gift for Christmas. No big deal, it’s just something you can’t open in front of my dad.”

Remembering I hadn’t bothered to buy him anything yet, “You really shouldn’t have.” And I really meant it; I was now having a small panic attack. What to get him, and when?

David laughed, and if I had a heart it would have stopped. I had forgotten how wonderful his laugh was to me, and I also realized how long it had been since I heard it. Being in this plane, sitting close to him… it brought back memories of our first night on the bus. David stopped laughing, “I can always tell when you are stressed. You forgot to get me a present, didn’t you?”

I got defensive, “I got you something… I forgot it. I forgot it at the store, and as soon as I have time to find that store, I will retrieve it.”

David laughed again, and his happiness was infectious, for soon I was laughing too. I added, “I know, I am a jerk.”

David stopped laughing and got serious, “Stop that. It’s not Christmas yet, and you still have time to shop. I was only telling you about your gift… well the reason was that you need to understand that my dad can’t see you open your real gift. In fact I plan on giving it to you right now.” David reached under his seat and pulled a large flat present
. He handed it to me, it looked as if he had wrapped up a folder.

“You shouldn’t have.”

With a wink, David encouraged me, “Open it.”

The wrapping paper was red with little green Christmas trees on it. The words Happy Holidays were under every tree. I opened the present… I was surprised. It was a folder, a brown folder. I opened it to find it stuffed with papers. Flipping the folder open on my lap, I thumbed through some of the paper when I came to a piece of paper with a small photo attached; my mind started to put it together.

There in the little photo was a picture of Jason Black. He was the large biker who raped me. I could see the folder was packed with information about the man. It had his current place of employment and his known friends and family. This was all I needed to hunt the bastard down; David’s Christmas present was another piece of my revenge.

I looked up at him; he was grinning from ear to ear. “So, what do you think?”

I beamed at him, “This is the best present I could think of. When can we go get him?”

He shook his head, “Not so fast sweetheart. If you take a look at that file you will find out that Jason is no mere man… he’s a
troll.”

I chuckled because I thought he was joking. Then I remembered I lived in a world where myths and legends were not stories to entertain us, but real and hidden in the shadows of what I called reality. I asked, “How do we kill him?”

David smiled; it was sinister in nature, “Trust me… I got this.”

“I do trust you… What do you need of me?”

David mused, “I need you to kill him, and you will need a special weapon to do it. You should know that I have just figured out how to make soul weapons. Enchanters could make the weapon we need to kill him, but they won’t help us.”

I know David had been working on his magic, but it sounded like what he was making would be hard to do. I wondered, “It’s not going to be dangerous for you to make this weapon?”

“No,” David looked a little lost in thought, but I had to get his attention again, “I will have to hurt someone to make it.”

“I don’t care.”

David nodded, “I didn’t think you would. I’ll sort out all the details. We’ll get him after Christmas, ok?”

I smiled
and put my arm around him, “Sounds like a date.”

The thought did pass through my head; what about Michael? It hurt to think about it, now that I had admitted my feelings for him to myself… I felt like I was having an affair. I was doing it for reasons other than love. Alice was right; I must finish my revenge before I could love.

Hate
and
Love
, they have the same goal… to devour another.