The Kingdom of the Nine; The Vampire Legacy IV (16 page)

“Witchcraft? How do you think that's
involved?” Julian walked over and sat beside me as I turned, on the
couch, to face him.

“Have you ever had any experiences with
magic?” He questioned me. I shook my head. The extent of my magical
experiences was making a coin appear from behind someone's ear.
“Well then, let me start from the beginning and explain some things
to you. Witchcraft uses the elements of the Earth and the
directions of the poles, earth, air, fire, and water, each with its
own direction, north, east, south and west. Now, it doesn't strike
me as odd that Larado might use some of those things in his
prophecies because his mother was a witch, but this one seems to
have the most I've seen in it in a long time.”

“Of course, earthly brown for earth, blue
skies for air, green seas for water and circles of fire for, well,
fire.” I said, nodding, but then I thought about the fourth person
and the fact that there seemed to be five elements. “Okay, you said
earth, air, fire and water, all of them we figured out, plus the
fact that there are four people involved, one for each element,
but, what gets me is that the fourth person doesn't have an
element, all it mentions is a soul.”

“There is a fifth element, in the Craft. The
spirit. Some call it Akasha, some call it spirit, and still others
call it the heart. Therefore, it would make sense to say that this
“soul” is the fifth element.” Julian answered, looking at his
fingers. “But, that still doesn't answer the question about whom
yet.”

“Can I ask you a question?” I whispered,
softly. Julian looked at me and nodded. “Have you ever experienced
anything like the red clouds before?”

Julian thought a moment, then sat forward and
closed his eyes as his hands covered his face. These actions made
me think that he had, but it also made me wonder if he was going to
tell me or not. Slowly, he sat back, opened his eyes and looked at
me.

“It was a long time ago, and you know, I've
never actually thought much of it.” He got up and walked over to
the window, where he looked out at the bright blue sky. “It was
when Larado was still alive. We had just finished moving the “clan”
out of Russia to the United States, to a large mansion that Larado
had purchased in the mountains of Colorado. One night, while I was
on the roof of this “castle” that we all lived in, I noticed the
clouds as they came rolling in, like a sudden storm had just popped
up, and I watched them stop, just above the house.

“I ran in to find him, to tell him of this
strange abnormality of the weather, but he was already outside, on
the front terrace, watching it come closer. The clouds turned red
and Larado moved to the courtyard where he stood, confident.”
Julian glanced over at me as I stared at him, caught up in the
story. “Lightening flashed down and a fire began to burn in the
dirt, right in front of him. I watched a figure step out of the
blaze and he raised his hand to Larado, but he just dismissed it.
There were words exchanged, but I was too far up to hear them or
they were speaking too low on purpose.

“The man stepped back into the flame and it
virtually disappeared, taking the clouds along with him. He never
spoke of it to anyone of us, he just pretended it never happened
and we put it out of our minds.” Julian walked back over and sat on
the couch next to me, then gave a little shrug. “That's all I
remember, except that shortly after that, he stepped up his work,
making sure that everything he had known was down on paper, and
that the arrangements had been made for the house to go to the next
in line if anything should happen to him.”

“Something did happen, didn't it?” I
whispered and Julian nodded.

“One day, he burst into flames for no
apparent reason. He had gathered us together, told us of most of
the recent prophecies and handed me his latest compilation, then he
stepped back, smiled, told us all to be safe, and, Poof! He went up
in flames.” Julian shook his head as his eyes clouded over, but,
then he drew in a deep breath and raised his eyebrows as he looked
at me. “So, now you know. Would you mind telling me why you asked
that?”

“Before I answer, can I ask you one more
thing?” I questioned. Julian gave me a strange look, trying to
determine what I was up to, and then he nodded. “Bite me.”

“What?” He asked, standing up, quickly. “Are
you insane?! I'm not going to bite you!”

“Listen to me.” I said calmly, and watched
him pace. “You said yourself that I know your past, everything
about you and your kind, well, I think I need to take advantage of
it, because there's a reason this is happening. I mean, think about
it, why would Larado tell you when you could have just looked it
up, about a prophecy that wasn't going to happen for a hundred
years. Something bigger than us is in the works, Julian, and I may
hold the key to what it is.”

“Let me go on record as saying this is the
worst idea I've heard in decades.” I laughed as he came over and
sat on the couch, then looked me in the eyes. “Are you sure?”

“As sure as I'll ever be.” I answered,
softly, as he reached over and put one hand on the side of my neck
and the other on my lap. I closed my eyes and waited as he drew
closer to me. I heard him breathe in deeply next to my ear, and
then I felt wet kisses on my neck.

Slowly, I opened my eyes and looked at him as
he backed away, then cast his green eyes to the floor.

“I'm sorry.” He whispered. “I can't.”

“Why? You did it before, in the bedroom that
first night, why can't you do it now, when it counts?” I asked,
softly. He looked up at me, quickly, and pulled me to him, wrapping
his arms around me. I could sense the nervousness from him and this
made me smile as I caressed his cheek with mine. I felt his heart
begin to beat faster against me, and his teeth as they gently
stroked my neck. “It's alright, Julian. You won't hurt me.”

“Don't say that.” He whispered in my ear.
“You don't know how hard it is to control your nature when you’re
one of us.”

“No, I don't, but I know how hard it is to
control anything when you feel like I do towards you.” I smiled and
closed my eyes, holding him closer to me. He kissed my skin as he
nuzzled against my neck.

“How do you feel?” He asked, quietly. “You've
never told me before.”

“I love you.” I replied, and then gasped as
he bit down on my neck.

Instantly, the room in my mind went dark,
then slowly, a red light came on, giving it a strange, eerie glow.
I looked around for only a moment before I heard my inner voice,
the one who sounded strangely like Julian.

Think about what you wish to know and it
shall come to you. His tone was light and airy, almost as if he
were whispering in my ear. Tell me what it is you’re looking
for.

As I thought to myself, about what exactly I
wanted to look for, visions came to me, then, as if my mind had hit
the rewind key, I was taken back through time, passed places and
things that I, myself, had never seen before, until it came to a
dead stop, in a thick patch of woods, on the outskirts of a little
village.

I stood still noticing as fires burned in
small stone structures outside the homes. I stepped closer to the
edge of the woods, feeling the heavy black cloak that I wore around
me, and I watched the people in the village gather in what looked
like the center of this place.

Someone was yelling to the others as he
stepped up on a wooden platform in front of the crowd. He was tall,
with long light brown hair, and his facial features almost matched
those of my biological father. I moved out of the woods, inching
ever closer to the crowd.

“We're tired of being terrorized, Klamara!” A
man in the crowd shouted, and this one that was on the platform
raised a hand to him. “It's your job to put a stop to this, that's
what we're paying you for.”

Hollers of agreement sailed out from the
people around him, but with just a stern look, the voices died and
he folded his hands, casually in front of him.

“You're right; you have paid me to take care
of this problem, and I am doing so, but you must have patience.” He
answered; his voice low, but powerful. “I have taken the necessary
steps to ensure the safety of this village.”

“Oh, yeah!” Another angry voice yelled,
making me look up towards it. “Then, what's that?”

All heads turned in my direction and I
desperately looked for a place to hide, but as I turned to move
back towards the woods, I noticed the young woman, dressed in
ragged clothing that was moving towards them, slowly. Her stance
was that of a predator as she, quietly, made her way through the
brush beside me. The villagers began to move, heading back toward
the safety of their homes, but Klamara waved his arms and
smiled.

“Have no fear, my friends, for it cannot
enter the village.” He laughed. People stopped, some wanting to see
if it were true, others wanted to find out what direction it was
coming from so they could run the opposite way, but it stopped,
just as the edge of the light that separated the village from the
dark forest. “Behold, it is unable to pass, you are safe.”

And, the villagers all seemed to believe him,
but as my vision changed, I found myself deep in the dark pits of a
cave, lit only by torches, and, I can only assume those were for
the benefit of Klamara's eyes. I watched him walk in, through the
vine covered entrance, and then pass me without a thought, and
since I was invisible, because this was only a memory; I walked
right next to him, following him down further into this maze
without a second thought.

He stopped in a large room, and looked around
at the twenty or more people who lounged in different spots. It
wasn't furnished, except for the few blankets scattered here and
there, but it seemed to fit these people just right. They were
vampires, all of them, except for one, who stepped out of the
darkened corner of the room. She was dressed quite eloquently, in a
long flowing dress that seemed to show off her curves, this person
was, without a doubt, a witch. Klamara walked up to her and
stopped, bending down on one knee; he bowed his head, then looked
up at her.

“I have done as you have asked; the villagers
trust that none of your clan can enter their houses. They are yours
for the picking.” He spoke softly, then stood up and faced her as a
man. “I've kept my end of the bargain, Witch; you may feast at
will, now I expect you to keep yours.”

She laughed at him, throwing her head back
and opening her mouth wide to let out the most noise, and then she
stopped, suddenly, and looked at him.

“You have done well, peasant, but this was
not all I asked of you.” She smiled. “I told you to bring me a
child of the village, but, behold, I see none.”

“I've done enough to satisfy your demonic
hunger for blood, woman, I refuse to aid you in your sorcery by
helping you to sacrifice a child.” He yelled, making the vampires
in the room begin to stir. “Now, let my wife go!”

“Your wife.” She laughed and watched two of
the vampires bring a pregnant woman out of the dark room that she
had just been in. “Your wife can not leave this place.”

I looked at this woman, who had at first
looked as though she had been dragged out, as she stood there
smiling down at him, her vampire teeth exposed. Klamara screamed in
agony and ran at the witch, only to be taken into custody by others
in the room.

“On my word as a man of God, Witch, all of
your demons and you shall pay for this!” He screamed.

“And, your child? Shall it be punished, also,
for it will be born both human and demon?” She smiled.

“It is not a child anymore, but an
abomination, and I shall destroy it and anything it produces!” He
screamed. “It shall burn with you in the fiery pits of hell.”

I watched her smile and nod, as if she didn't
believe him, then she waved her guards to take him away. I followed
closely and watched as, half way down the hall, he got loose,
grabbed two torches and took off down the hallway, setting vampires
on fire as he went.

Suddenly, I was outside, watching the fire
erupt from the cave. I knew then that Klamara hadn't escaped, but
out of the corner of my eyes, I caught movement, and watched as his
pregnant, vampire wife disappeared into the trees.

The scene changed once again, as the years
set into fast forward and centuries passed before my mind came to
rest at a pond, where a girl sat with her feet splashing in the
water. She looked much like Klamara, much like my father, and I
knew that she must be from his bloodline. The line that had been
preserved when his wife escaped the fiery tomb her makers had been
caught in.

As I observed her for a short time, from
where I sat in a nearby tree, I listened to her as she hummed a
familiar song. I noticed her hair was golden blonde and her eyes, a
piercing green, and she looked over the landscape with a smile on
her face, but slowly that smile faded and a look of terror caught
her eyes. She stood, quickly, as the darkness rolled in and made a
break for the nearby path, only to have it blocked by a cloud of
heavy fog, which seemed to glow a bright red color.

She turned, as fire erupted around her, and
walked back towards the small dock, she had been sitting on. It was
then that I saw him, walking out of the red fog, a man with long
hair and he raised his hand to her, gathering strength from the
clouds around him. Evil seemed to pour from him, as his words,
spoken in that old language that he had used when he was alive, but
understood by my ears, boomed out across the quiet pond.

“Demon child, brace yourself, I have come to
vanquish you to the pits of hell, as I have done to your ancestors
before you!” He spoke calmly, with as much power in his voice in
death as he had once possessed in life. “Do you repent sinner?”