New Blood (The Blood Saga Book 2) (12 page)

The days passed like hours for me.
I only knew due to the sunrise and sunsets that days were really cycling at
all. Phoenix was my only companion and that was only on occasion. Once again in
my life or second life as it were, I was the social recluse. Damien of course
was keeping his distance now more than ever since the call. Perhaps he really
was going to give up.

So it was quite to my surprise when
Jezabell hopped up onto the rail of the balcony where I was sitting in lotus,
reading one day. “Hello, dear!” She giggled while dangling precariously over
the edge.

“Um, hey Jez.” Certainly surprised,
all I could do was wonder why the sudden visit. We’d mended fences so to speak.
But her sudden burst of good cheer was still unexpected, and suspect.

Before long, after some idle chit
chat, she had found her way behind me, her fingers weaving through my hair. She
had taken it upon herself to braid my hair into a million tiny braids, simply
because she could.

“Jezie, where do the voices come
from?” It was an unexpected question, but she seemed like just the person to
ask. Old as the ages themselves as she was.

“What voices?” I could feel her
pause. Even her fingers stopped moving through my hair.

“When I turned, and after the
incident with the hikers I heard whispers.” I meant when she had used her
mental whammy against me, making me black out. Or whatever it was.

“Ahh… That’s rare. Not very many of
us hear anything like that. Especially more than once.”

“You do know what it is then. Who
are they?”

“Some people say they are the
voices of pure magic. The basis of how our kind was all created. We call them
the Ancients. The oldest of the Faye. The Shifters. The Descendants, and of
course the Vampire. They say that Ancients are linked to every one of us. Like
a spider web we are all connected. It would explain a lot really if it’s true.
For example, those that have a stronger connection can read minds as well as
Damien.”

So why is it I had heard them twice,
but my connection didn’t seem very strong at all? “But all Vampires read minds,
don’t they? Or are like you. What is it called, what you do? Have you met ever
met an Ancient?” My body tensed even if in slight as I remembered what Jezabell
was capable of.

“So many, many questions.” She
sighed. “Damien can do much more than read your thoughts as they are created. Ask
him sometime. But, as you know, not every Vampire is telepathic in any form
though most are. Yes, like me as well. Hmmm, what I do. What I do is one of the
many forms of sense manipulation. Excruciation is something you’ve seen a bit
of. I should apologize for that also.” Was that the apology?

“Excruciation basically induces
pain in different levels causing different effects. I can use almost every form
of sense manipulation, but it’s far too complicated to explain it all in a day.
And as for Ancients, well let me think. When I was young I met three sisters...
They’re the oldest that I have met. They claimed they were of the true Ancients,
but that is debatable. Arrogance is not power.”

She seemed to ponder. “Our history
isn’t very clear to be honest. They say that there were those of our kind that
were not bitten to be made. That it was something more than that. No one knows
for certain.”

“Is that why some Vampires are
stronger than others?”

“Some believe so. That’s difficult
to say. Some believe your strength is dependent on how strong you were as a
human. Some believe you only get stronger with age. This is true to an extent.
But it has to stem from somewhere originally. It’s impossible to say where the
truth lies with all of this. But isn’t that the case with all history? All
anything amounts to in this world is theory.”

“What about my strengths?” Or my
lack thereof.

“That’s something you’ll have to
learn in your own time. You must be patient, Anna, these things emerge with
time, great amounts of tolerance, and focus. Not all gifts come naturally.”

“Tell me something, Jezabell. Where
is it you come from originally? Where were you born when you were human?” There
wasn’t any explicit reason for my curiosity. Other than to say I lived with
four perfect strangers, and one man who I was afraid to know any better for
fear of my broken heart.

Her smile brightened as her mood
perked at a fond memory. “I was born in Ireland upon the island of Roe. I lived
there until my family died of disease and starvation. A ship of merchants came
every month, and on their next visit I went with them. But something else had
stowed on the ship as well. None of the crew survived. But when she came upon
me she saw in me the child she had lost in her humanity. Vidana turned me so
that she would no longer be alone.” She sighed heavily. The air thickened with
emotion. “And here we are today.”

Our day went on. By the end, I had
a head full of braids each so tiny and without a single strand out of place.
Some of them only had three strands of hair per braid. It was impossible to get
out. Everyone else seemed to delight in my frustration though.

Three days later Lara came to save
me and spent the day unbraiding it. This was after I had miserably failed at
the challenge ,and was ready to pull my hair out. All that stopped me was the
fact that I hadn’t been sure what would happen if I did.

Lara and I sat on the balcony off
of her and Jezabell’s bedroom. She was armed with a fine tooth comb, a hair
brush, and detangler. “In all my days I have never once needed detangler for a
Vampire!” She laughed as she went to work on my hair.

“It’s not surprising to me. I went
through gallons of that stuff before I turned.”

She giggled again. Sprits- separate-
tug. Sprits- separate- tug. Over and over again. Her fingers were very careful.
The tension in the air was as tangled as my hair. “So, what is it you wished to
speak to me about, Anna?”

My nose wrinkled which made her
laugh again. “Am I that transparent?”

“I saw it coming.” She tugged a
braid playfully.

“Oh right. Of course you did. You
know between you and Damien... anyway. Well I’m just trying to figure things
out better I guess.” She laughed when I commented on her and Damien.

If I could compare it to anything
really it would be like that dream you have when you’re in a big public place
and you’re completely naked, but everyone else has their clothes on. Exposed.
Yes that’s the best word for it. Never a move you can make that Lara could not
see coming, and never a thought that Damien could not hear. Not to mention
Phoenix.

“So how does it work then? Your
being able to see things that is.”

“Well it’s complicated. I don’t see
everything.”

“You didn’t see what happened when
I turned.”

“No. I had never met you. I didn’t
see you were a Vampire until I saw Damien driving with you to New York.”

“Do you feel responsible for the
things that you see? Is that why you don’t like talking about it?”

“Of course. If I tell a single
person it could change absolutely everything. That could cause things to take a
horrible turn. Or if I tell no one then my gift goes wasted. I have it for a
reason. If I keep everything to myself alone then I cannot change anything. Let
alone, I think it may drive me insane.” She giggled at the thought. “You know
what the Chaos Theory is, don’t you, Anna?”

“Cause and effect.” Her words had
me thinking a great deal.

“Absolutely. What I am shown is
only a glimpse. A possibility at best. But if I were to share every
possibility, even one small detail changes everything. What if I change
something for the wrong reason or in the wrong way? Can you imagine what
problems that could bring? If I had seen you, who knows what would have
happened?”

“I suppose that makes sense. Well I
guess I am just wondering how whatever it is decided to show you what it shows you.
You know like... You didn’t see me at the waterfall either. I know that much.
But what kept you from seeing that when you see other things? I guess that’s
what I am asking.”

“It’s all right. I understand. I
have met people that without their control or mine I could not see even if I
tried to. I have met people that could actually keep me from being able to see
them, like Phoenix. I rarely see anything at all involving him. He keeps people
out, very well,” her tone darkened at that mention. More food for thought. Why
did Phoenix keep everyone out so strictly? “The only time someone gets into
Phoenix’s head is if he lets them. But skill like that comes mostly from focus
and time.” Unless it was a part of his gift. “You may not be actively keeping
me out, but you are difficult to see. To be honest my dear, I don’t know why.”

So the question that brought me to
was, is there a limit? Is it just like a person? They can grow and grow and
grow, but eventually they stop. I mean physically I can see limitations for
certain. But this, mentally... Maybe there weren’t so many limits.

“Another thought, what if whatever
it is that shows you your visions, is showing you only what they want you to
see? What if it’s the Ancients? Perhaps they show you the things they intend
for you to have control to change?”

“Hmm.” She seemed to ponder that,
but her silence continued on. She wasn’t going to respond. Perhaps she couldn’t.

After some time in my own thoughts
while Lara skillfully released thousands of little braids, I began on my second
round of questioning. “Lara, where do you come from?”

“Ahh, I was wondering when you
would ask that. I was born in Greece actually.”

“Oh wow, I have always wanted to
see Greece. Tell me what it was like. How old were you when you changed? I don’t
mean to be rude. Is that where you met Damien?”

Her soft laugh was more blissful
than that of a child or an angel. Maybe a cherub could contend. But somehow I
doubted even that. “No. Jezabell found Damien there when he was a very young
Vampire. I was little more than a child when I turned. I think I was around
thirteen or so. We kept track differently then, but still, in those times I was
a woman by that age. I was a slave for one of the wealthiest families in all of
Greece, Anastasius. His wife was my mistress, and I her closest companion. She
was what you would call my second cousin you see. I helped her keep order over
the other girls, making life easier for her and her husband. I still remember
their love. It was beautiful. I had been with them since I was quite young. Five
or so I believe.

“One day a visitor came. It was
late at night, far past normal calling hours. But our master was a thoughtful
man and dared not turn away a traveler for any reason. We of course as women
and slaves no less, were not in the position to argue.

“I heard Anastasius and his wife
fight more that night than ever before. I was scared. The other servants were,
too. But this traveler was charming to say the very least. He had a rich voice,
soothing. It rang with harmony. His eyes were like liquid amber. His hair was
black, and long down his back. Curled like a cherub. But his skin, his skin was
placid and hinted olive green like death. It was cold and clammy. So unnatural
for our lands. It frightened us. He seemed to take a liking to me the moment he’d
laid eyes on me.”

Her fingers moved slowly through my
hair as she thought back, ruminating over her past, and no doubt reliving every
moment. “We knew the legends. The legends of the Empousa. This was what they
called us then. Demon that feeds off humans.” She was quiet a moment as she
considered her human death. “I am sure you can use your imagination to fill in
the blanks from there.”

My spine twitched as she finished
her story. Despite the missing details, they were easy to fill in. I felt my lips
whisper the words so soft of course only a Vampire sitting as close as Lara
could here. “You were alone. None of the others...sur... Continued.” Survived
didn’t seem the appropriate wording. Sighing softly, she leaned over my shoulder
to softly kiss my cheek.

“Dear Anna, do not be depressed by
my story. Most stories are just like that. Few of us have stayed with our
makers.” More thoughts to accompany this. Why not? Was I doomed away from
Damien because he turned me? Could there be no hope?

“So why do you think he chose you?”