Night Feast (23 page)

Valentin and Arabella had always believed that it would be them who would choose the husbands for their two beautiful daughters.  They had hoped that it would be hundreds of years from now, they had wanted to keep their family in its present unit of just the four of them.  Never before had either of the girls expressed a desire for anyone else's company.  They had both always been content to play with each other, under the loving eyes of their doting parents.

''What do you mean by that darling?'' asked Arabella slowly, ''you did it for love?''

''I mean that I met someone mommy, a beautiful boy, a human'' said Lia, her eyes shone at the thought of Jay.

''A human?'' Valentin's eyes were bulging with rage.  Some human boy was trying to take his little girl away from him, or so he thought.

''Oh come on daddy, you were human once and so was mommy remember? And it was you who made mommy into a vampire.''  Everyone looked at Kathrin as these words left her mouth.  Lia felt very grateful for her sister's defence.

''Well that is true but..'' Valentin faltered.

''But what, but what daddy?'' said Lia earnestly.  She was desperate for her father to see her point of view.

''What is your intention Lia, does this boy know what you are, does he know that you are from a different time?''

Lia shook her head. ''No, no he doesn't know anything but I intend to bring him into our world and then everything will be alright.''

''What, you intend to drink his blood, turn him into one of us before telling him the truth about yourself? I think you are being very naive Lia, very naive indeed.''

''Why'' said Lia passionately, ''you did it to mommy, she didn't know that you were a vampire and that you were changing her into one too.''

This time it was Arabella who spoke.  ''Lia your father is right.  I was very unhappy when we met I had been for all of my life, your father saved me.  Now can you tell me that this boy who you love feels the same?  I have no doubts that he loves you Lia, that's not what I am saying, but what about his life, his family? You would be taking him away from the warm bloodied existence that he's  accustomed to, without his permission.  How well do you know him, do you really think that he would thank you for that?''

Lia listened to her mother's wise words.  She had only thought about things from her own point of view.

''I think that it would be best if you told him the truth first and let him decide don't you?'' said Valentin he was feeling a little calmer now.  ''There is just one more thing Lia that I need to ask you and it is imperative that you tell me the truth; have you killed anyone on the other side of that portal?''

Lia felt her eyelids blink rapidly for a swift moment.  With the most innocent expression that she could muster she looked her father straight in the eye, and answered his question:

''No daddy, I wouldn't do that, I would never disobey you in that way.''

There were twenty of them in number.  Eighteen Sages were dressed in their ceremonial gowns which were black and hooded with pictures of golden eagles on the backs.  Orthè's gown was exactly the same in style but dark green in colour, and bore the image of an evil looking red skull on the front.  The remaining Sage, Elgorne, wore a gown made of pure white cloth, that had on the front of it a picture of a brilliant rising sun.  He was in charge of mixing the magickal potion called a Philtre, that was going to be used to bring Elena back to life.  The concoction consisted of a number of different herbs, and extracts of animal excretions and animal parts.  Elgorne had the responsibility of visualising Elena's coming back to life, and standing in front of him as he stirred the strong smelling ingredients of the mixture. This he did, as his fellow Sages watched and surrounded him in silence. When the task was completed Orthè poured Elena's ashes onto a long stone slab.  The Sages gathered around it in a circle, before their leader took the Philtre from Elgorne, and poured it all over the dusty grey ashes that lay in front of them.  They all bowed their heads and for a few minutes started to chant the words 'rise Elena Hudson rise.'  Then suddenly the ashes and concoction started to take the shape of a female, human form.  It magically gathered itself together as the Sages continued to chant, urgently now as they saw the body develop.  It turned from ashes to stone, and lay there for a while, until they could see that the statue was turning into human skin, and hair and nails.  Each Sage then closed their eyes and ceased with their chanting.  When they opened them they saw that Elena Hudson was alive, and sitting up on the slab.

''Elena, I am Orthè. I am the Imperial leader of the Sages of the Dead.  I bid you welcome.''

''Where am I?'' Elena was confused, she suddenly realised that she was naked, and tried to cover herself up with her arms.  Elgorne rushed away and came back with a robe for her.  Orthè then took her to his chambers, sat her down and explained who they were and why she was there.  He told her that she had been killed by a vampire, and that they had resurrected her in order that she should avenge her own death.  Elena had a vague memory of being in the woods, where a beautiful girl had placed a deadly kiss on her neck, but that was all.  She knew that she had been dead, but she wasn't quite sure how or why.

''You must return to your home and you must kill the vampire'' said Orthè with finality.

''But how must I do that?'' Elena's voice sounded strange to her own ears.  She sounded worldly, stronger, a far cry from the innocent seventeen year old girl that she still was.

''Come my child let me show you what this evil vampire has taken away from you.''

Orthè took Elena by the hand and led her outside of the cave to a small pond.  She watched as he stretched his left arm over it, moving it backward and forth.  He told her to look at the pond and as she does she saw herself and Jay Patterson together.  They were standing at the foot of the stairs, at their friend's house chatting together, and enjoying each other's company.  Elena smiled in recognition of the time just before her death.  She remembered Jay's face, his eyes and his soft expression, as he had looked at her.  Then suddenly the image in the pond changed, and she was once again confronted by the beautiful vampire girl.  She saw Lia grab her, and fly through the air not landing until they had reached a very dense part of the woods.  Then Elena saw the pretty mouth open to reveal the monstrous teeth, and then the pond turned black.

''Tell me Orthè; how should I do it? How should I kill this vampire?'' asked Elena, and he could sense that a violent rage and hatred had erupted inside of her.

''You are the only person on earth at present who can kill this vampire.  It is only you who can drive a stake through her cold heart, and destroy her forever.  But you must be careful my child, this one is strong, and also the daughter of one of the most powerful vampires that has ever walked on this earth.''

''I am not afraid and I will not fail.''

''Good, I see you are strong, but I must warn you, the vampire drained you dry, you have no blood, therefore if you do not succeed in killing her within the next six months you will return to the world of spirits forever, if you do succeed in your task your blood will return to your body and you will be able to live as a human again. Now come we must get you home.''

Orthè took Elena back to the place where they had performed the ceremony to bring her back to life.  He and the Sages gathered around her again.  They all bowed their heads and walked around her in a circular motion in complete silence.  Then Elena Hudson disappeared.

Valentin and Arabella gave Lia permission to go back through the portal, knowing at this point that they would be frozen in time until she returned.  She went quickly to the cluster of trees and to her surprise, she saw that the portal had turned from a swirling white light, to a vibrant red circular entry. Feeling that she had no time to ponder this change in its appearance, she went straight to her house and changed her clothes, before phoning Jay on his cell and asking if she could see him.  Jay was very relieved when he heard her voice, he had been trying to contact her all day, there was a lot that he wanted to discuss.  During their short conversation on the phone, he mentioned the Beauchamp painting and asked if there could be any connection to her family.  Lia said that she would explain everything as soon as she saw him.  She knew that he loved her, and she hoped that he would understand.  Cora had gone to see some friends, she had taken her car so Lia would have to go to Jay's house. To his surprise she arrived two minutes after their telephone conversation was over.  She thought it was pointless to wait for the hour to pass, the time it would usually took to get from Westport to Portland.  She was ready to tell Jay the whole truth.

Elijah and Evelyn Hudson were taking turns in reading aloud from the Bible, when they heard a knock on their front door.  Evelyn rose from her chair to answer it, she was clearly irritated by the disturbance of the bible study hour, that they conducted every evening.  She opened the door, and her blood curling scream brought her husband rushing to her side.

''Hello mom, dad.''  Elena pushed passed her trembling parents, ignoring the shock and the fear on their faces.  She went up the stairs to her old room, and retrieved some of her old clothes, that her mother had packed away in black carrier bags for charity.  Her parents stayed downstairs shaking, petrified, and unable to speak.  When their daughter reappeared she came down the stairs, and walked past them saying that she would be back later on.  Evelyn Hudson passed out in her husband's arms.

Jay opened the front door to see Lia, looking more beautiful than ever.  He took her hand and led her into the kitchen, after passionately kissing her inviting lips.  They sat and talked for a while and she told him that her father had let her sell the painting,  in order that their family friend could post some of the money for his bail.  She admitted that it had been stolen, but had been retrieved by her family some years ago and Jay accepted all that she said without further question.  Then he told her about the last conversation that he'd had with Amberlee Robinson.

''Lia, Amberlee Robinson came into college today, to empty her locker or something, she said that you came to see at her dad's place in Philadelphia.''

''That is correct.''

Jay was shocked when he did not get the denial that he had expected.

Lia continued to talk, taking it as the perfect opportunity to get everything out in the open.

''Jay there is a lot that you don't know about me, but I need to tell you the truth. I went to see Amberlee and threatened her, so she agreed to come back to Portland to clear your name.''

''But why would Amberlee be so afraid of a sweet pretty girl like you?'' said Jay despite the odd circumstances he was a little amused at the thought.

''Many people would be afraid of me Jay, you see I am not all that I seem, I am a vampire, I have come from another time through a portal from 1838.''

''Yeah and I'm superman...'' Jay stopped when he saw that she was being serious.

''My parents are not travelling, whenever I come through the portal I leave them trapped in time.''  When Lia saw how confused he looked she rose herself in mid air, she thought that showing him her teeth at this point would scare him off completely.  Jay pushed his chair back, his face turned white, and he could feel his hair begin to stand on end.  Lia landed back into her chair.

''Please Jay I am not a bad person and I love you so much please try to understand'' she begged.

''But I didn't think that vampires really existed, don't you bite people and drink their blood or something?'' Jay was perplexed.

''We are all much more controlled than humans think, we can easily live among them without harming them.''

Jay sat without talking for a while. He had known in his heart of hearts that there was something different about her.  She didn't eat, her skin was cold and her beauty was beyond compare. In truth, he had felt something was strange when he had first met her at the dance. But she had never made him feel anything but loved, desired and wanted.  He realised now that she had bitten her own hand, during their physical love making to protect him.  She had sold a family painting, a priceless family painting, so that he could be released from police custody.  She had taken it upon herself to track down Amberlee Robinson, in order to ensure his freedom.  She had also controlled her natural instincts around Kevin and Libby and his mother.  As far as he was concerned Lia's only crime was that she had proved how much she loved him.

''I don't care, I don't care what you are Lia I love you, I have loved you from the minute that you walked into the dance and I can't let you go.''

They fell on each other in a passionate embrace, and they left the kitchen and went to run up the stairs to make love in Jay's room.  Then suddenly the doorbell rang.  They both walked to the door and Jay opened it.

''Hello Jay, remember me?''

Elena Hudson fixed her eyes firmly on the vampire as she spoke.