What I've done

Another snippet from my story~

  _{They filed in, sitting at the furthest end of the table; far as they could be from me. Five of them, dressed to the nines in expensive suits – all bearing the same expression of forced sternness.}

 

  _{A sign of authority, perhaps. It amused me. Hesh had taken off earlier; he had had several run-ins with the organization over the years, few that had ended positively. The organization has always had a way of turning civil conversations into arguments, which – in past years – usually led to witch hunts. Meredith, Warren, Raphael, Adam and Nathaniel had stayed; Oliver was upstairs with his sister, James and Seamus. I had told him it was because the organization would have very little patience with me as it was, and it would be safer for him there.}

  

 _{I had lied. Oliver’s father was high up in the organization, and he was sitting opposite of me.}

    _{“In all honesty, I don’t trust you Collette.” Caine growled, “As far as I was concerned you were dead; before that all I have is your reputation, several refrences made to you through salvaged society papers and this book.” He paused, holding up the decrepit thing.}

  _{Funny. I was under the impression I had burned that.}

    _{“What is it you want to know?” I leaned forward, folding my arms on the table.}

    _{“The obvious; how the society operates. What your kind is capable of.” He said shortly, avoiding the terms 'werewolves' or 'undead'. How nice of him.}

       _{"There are three levels of Revenants, or my kind.” I started, “The Commons, Aristocrats and the Nobles. As indicated by their label, The Commons make up the majority of us.” I paused; it had been awhile since I had discussed this with anyone. “The Nobles are extinct now... Anphore was the last, and there are very few Aristocrats. What we are defines our ranks in the society. Nobles are born monsters, from families and linage that reach far back into the earlier days of mankind itself. However, Nobles do age slowly; one human decade is equal to one year’s worth of aging for a Noble. For example, a Noble in their 50’s is truly 500 years old. Also, there is another ability that is unique to Nobles...” I cut myself off; unsure whether or not to tell them.}

  _{“And that is?” Caine frowned. I studied him for a moment, years off stress had bore deep lines into his forehead and had sunken his eyes, both of which were set on me. I felt a surge of anger; I calmed it quickly without changing my expression, but it was defiantly there; the resemblance.}

_{A very distinct resemblance to the man who had killed Amai over a century ago. To the man I had stood over, my arms dripping with his blood; my face set – my body on the border of losing control. I clenched my jaw. Not here.}

    _{“They are more animal then Aristocrats or Commons.” I continued after a moment, “They can transform into horrifying monsters at will; painful transformations into mindless killers. I only saw Anphore do it once... her body was build to capacitate the changes; she needed very little time to recuperate, unlike…” I paused,  I was not going there. “When nobles turn humans into Revenants - they must inject their own blood into the human's body, usually through a bite wound, but it doesn't have to be. This is how an Aristocrat is created. They are the highest ranking Revenants now that the Nobles have died. There are nine Aristocrats; eight of them were created by Anphore,” I glanced around at the people on my side of the table; the people who trusted me, hoping they were distracted but they were hanging on every word I said, “Like me.” I finished quietly. Their eyes widened slightly,}

    _{“You…?”  Meredith breathed, “But, Liam, you said…that would make you… h- how old are you?”}

 

  _{And there it was. The question I knew they’d ask eventually. I looked at her, and felt my stomach drop slightly – I knew she was terrified of Aristocrats, but I had never seen her look at me like that before. The fear in her eyes sickened me.}

   _{“Meredith…” I started, she was looking at me now as though she didn’t know me, “...I will be two hundred and thirty four this March.”}

  _{This wasn’t news to the organization, they knew a lot more about me then my friends did. More then I would like then too; things I wished weren’t true about me.}

 

   _{No one said anything further; Raphael, Warren, Adam and Nathan were clearly shocked that I was over two centuries old - although, Adam and Warren looked vaguely amused with the concept of it. Caine cleared his throat loudly and I turned my attention back to him,}

    _{“The other Aristocrat was sired by Anphore’s father before her, back in the 1200's,” I continued, “Any Revenant sired by an Aristocrat or a Common is a Common. Aristocrats and Commons sire by simply biting, there are thousands of Commons. The number is rising...” I paused again, looking directly into Caine’s eyes, “Apparently, Aristocrats can also pass on the curse by injecting their blood into a human’s blood stream. The victim himself wouldn't turn into one of us, rather, their children or grandchildren would be born with the curse. It wouldn't manifest itself until the body carrying the gene reached adulthood, but it would.” I stopped; I could see it in his eyes, a dawn of realization. “The society had always been led by Nobles, but Anphore left it to me; an Aristocrat.” I went on, “Several people objected, obviously. A small rebellion arose, including a few Revenant Hunters that agreed to work with Revenants to get me; one of their members - John Caine - murdered Amai to get to me.” I finished, my voice was hoarse and my throat felt raw,}

_{Caine’s face was strained, perhaps he understood. I felt a tinge of satisfaction.}

    _{“And then?” The man on Caine’s right stepped forward. He had my file; he knew. I looked back at Meredith, Warren, Raphael, Adam and Nathan and my heart sunk further. I was trapped.}

    _{“I lost control of myself that day,” I said quietly, “I transformed. And I killed a lot of people.” Everyone was staring at me, shocked,  “And then everyone knew, they all saw the curse Anphore had passed on to me. The reason she left the society in my hands. I think Hesh might have been jealous, had he not been scared shitless at the time.” I paused, “But I had their respect after that. Well... perhaps not respect, it was more fear then anything else. Nevertheless, there was another rebellion decades later. I was overthrown, and sentenced to be decapitated; obviously I lived - but only just.” I motioned towards the mangled scars on my neck, “One of the younger commons helped me escape... Simon MacLeod.” I looked down at my hands, “Joseph took over the society after that, and it fell to where it is now; the cannibalism…” I finished.}

 

   _{“Are you saying that you can transform at will?” Caine frowned,}

   _{“Hardly, it seems to be connected to my emotions more then anything else. I have to be in total control at all times, when I’m angry…” I looked away,}

_{Everyone was still staring; apparently the organization had been unaware of this.}

   _{“…How did you manage this, how are you capable of it?” Caine demanded,}

   _{“I’m not sure how, a fluke… maybe the circumstances I was sired during.” I grimaced. Caine raised an eyebrow,}

   _{“And those were?” he asked,}

   _{“It was an accident… I fell off of a roof; ended up with a jagged piece of wood sticking out of my chest. She was nearby – She asked if I wanted to live… I didn't know who she was, but I said yes. At that point my body had already started to shut down. I was too weak; my body didn’t reject her blood like others did when I watched her sire afterwards. Nevertheless, because of that, I think more of it got inside of me.” I finished, I was done.}

  _{Everyone was silent.}

_{Caine looked me over, he lifted the tattered little book,}

    _{“These names… they’re all the people you’ve killed aren’t they.” It wasn’t a question. I nodded,}

     _{“1,337 people.”}

_{I know them all by heart.}

 

Author's Note

Another snippet from my story, not a chapter~
Some of the characters mentioned aren't fully explanied, but I'm writing the scene straight forward as I worked it out in my head; when I actually try and write the book eventually - they'll be introduced properly and way before scenes that occur this far along in the story...

So, what do you guys think?