Chapter 6

They spent the rest of the day sitting hand-in-hand on deck chairs on Lisette’s back porch while Aurelia fired off one question after another about being a vampire and teasing her about not eating her cinnamon roll.

            “How are you able to be in the sun?”

            Lisette kept her answers brutally honest, “When vampires kill one another, they can absorb special abilities into themselves by draining the other dry. The one I got this ability from was one of the original vampires created in the beginning by the Sovereign, the creator of our kind.” Lisette could see the next question coming so she held up her hand with a smile and continued.

            “Vampires weren’t originally created as the bloodthirsty demons that people have come to believe them to be. They were created as children of the Sovereign, sort of like the way God created man. They were peaceful creatures by nature, and looked exactly like humans, but the Sovereign also created them as a form of protection for those who would try to steal its power and made them nearly indestructible. So, while the originals weren’t immediately distinguishable to the human eye, they had traits that made them recognizable to one another.

            “There’s the teeth, of course, speed, strength, the ability to sense one another, they were more physically appealing than humans and then each individual vampire had their own special gifts. Some could see the future or read the thoughts of others, some were simply gifted intellectually, like human doctors and scientists, and they could figure out difficult equations and had the ability to come up with new technologies.

            “They could have children and families so that the pure race could grow and spread throughout the continents.” Lisette paused to take in Aurelia’s look of pure awe which quickly vanished as Aurelia moved her hand in such a way as to encourage Lisette to keep talking.

            With a smile, Lisette continued, “For centuries things were peaceful, there were few attacks on the Sovereign leaving the vampire race with little to do but procreate. Eventually some of them decided to try to blend in with the humans and get jobs just for something to do, and the Sovereign allowed it as long as they pledged their allegiance and made themselves immediately available when they were needed. That was the beginning of our downfall.

            “The Sovereign was so confident in our creation and vampires had been so loyal for so long that no consideration was given to the idea of vampires straying from the purpose for which they were created. So when they began to mix with humans, they learned about freedom, the ability to work for oneself and power.

            “The idea of freedom and power immediately spread like wildfire among the vampires and went straight to their heads, especially power. Because they were beautiful, strong and skilled in battle, it wasn’t long before they were made kings and queens by the humans or worshipped as gods.

            “They mated with humans and had half-breed babies that were dominantly vampire; many times the human mothers would not survive the birth because the babies were so strong and would claw or kick them on the way out, breaking bones, usually ribs, which punctured lungs or the heart.

            “A group of renegades eventually realized that the vampires weren’t normal humans and got it into their heads that vampires were using magic to makes themselves more appealing so that the humans would like them. So they went off to find the source of vampire creation, it took them many years, but somehow they finally found and planned to kill the Sovereign so that they could have vampire power for themselves.”

            Lisette paused again giving Aurelia time to let this information sink in.

            “Is the Sovereign male or female?” Aurelia asked suddenly.

            “We assume that it’s both, somehow male and female which is how our race is said to be created.

            “Okay, so then what happened?”

            Lisette chuckled and then continued, “When the Sovereign learned of the attack, it called the vampires to arms, but there was little protection to be had between the handful who had never left and those who responded to the call. Needless to say it was a bloodbath for the humans and even the Sovereign suffered some pretty major injuries, but the vampires won out in the end.

            “You can imagine that the Sovereign was pretty pissed off by the time it was all over and called the entire race home by force. The ones who had settled down with human families rather than vampire families,

Literally vanished before the eyes of their spouses and children with no explanation whatsoever and never saw them again.

            “The Sovereign was so angry with the vampires that it used its remaining power to place a curse upon the vampire race. From that day on, vampires would only survive on the blood of others which would be a reminder of the blood that was spilled in battle by their abandoned creator.        “The females were rendered barren, which was intended to make the race weak over time and turn it upon itself because the men could only reproduce with humans, creating half breeds, which would turn the women from the men in shame. They would no longer age, which wouldn’t allow them to stay among the humans for long periods of time without giving themselves away.

            They were forced to spend eternity upon the earth, physically frozen and never moving forward the way nature intended. The biggest blow was when we were cursed to never again see the sun. It’s said that the sun is the eye of the Sovereign and so those who have fallen from grace will turn to dust in the light of the Sovereigns gaze.

            “Only those who came to the aid of the Sovereign when called were exempt from the curse and so pure members of the race were still created through about 50 or so un-cursed vampires. Those vampires were given the choice to go into exile with the Sovereign or to live among the humans, most chose to live among the humans to be closer to the other originals rather than be cut off completely. They scattered to the ends of the earth so keep themselves from overpopulating any one area with too many originals.

            “You can imagine there are far fewer pure vampires anymore than there are half breeds, but there’s still so many more vampires in the world than you’d ever imagine.”

            “If pure vampires are born of other pure vampires and half breeds are a mix with humans then what are you? You said you’re only two hundred years old and you mentioned that centuries passed while the vampires protected the Sovereign from attack.” Aurelia inquired.

            “I see you’re observant.” Lisette smiled and kissed her hand, “Originally, a vampire named Bartholomew came up with the idea that if they were able to provide the Sovereign, once again, with a loyal army that our race may find forgiveness and once again be allowed to walk in the sun. He knew that the Sovereign despised the half breeds that the pure ones had with humans, so he decided to see if he could create vampires from humans using only the blood of the originals for optimal performance.

            “His logic was that he’d find those who were close to death and they’d be so grateful to have their lives restored that they would happily serve the Sovereign willingly for eternity. I suppose you could consider him a scientist, and it took him decades to find a vampire willing to volunteer for his project and then to collect blood because we heal so fast.

            “Back then, only another vampire would have had enough strength to force anything into our skin like a needle.” She added in a “Just F.Y.I” sort of tone.

            “Needless to say, once he was able to collect the vampire blood it didn’t take long for him to figure out the ratio that worked. Believe it or not, it was just half and half, just like half breeds. Unfortunately no vampires would agree to donate their blood for the project when it was so much more fun creating half breeds the normal way.” She stopped to wink at Aurelia who flushed delicately.

            “So the project was abandoned after all that research. Years later, when an unknown disease swept the village that the vampire scientist lived in, a woman approached him and asked if there was any way he could save her dying daughter.

            “He explained that it might be possible, but there was no guarantee and that his solution could possibly kill her daughter. The woman was still willing to give it a try, although I’m not so sure she would have been so willing if she’d known what her daughter would become.

            “The scientist made the mother wait outside so she wouldn’t see him while he drained the girl of half of her blood. He then bit a hole in his own wrist, inserted a tube made of straw and drained half of his own blood down the girls throat. Within twenty four hours she was completely back to normal with a few changes that her mother would live to regret later.

            “The little girl was maybe eight to ten years old when the change happened and that was how she stayed, it took about two years before they noticed that she wasn’t growing or looking any older. The scientist had been secretly feeding her blood to keep her family from finding out what she was since she could still eat normal food.

            “Then, late one night, the scientist took the little girl away, people were starting to talk about her lack of change and it was no longer safe for her to be around her family. But she was living proof that humans could be turned into vampires, so he wanted to do whatever he could to ensure her survival. Over time, others figured out how to do it too and many used it as a way to help the sick and dying, but there’s always a few who are fucked up in the head and decide to do it for fun, creating vampires from humans just because they could or as a form of revenge.”

            Lisette sat for a long, quiet moment, looking out into the distance with a dark look on her face and hatred in her eyes. Aurelia remained silent, but took Lisette’s hand in her own, distracting the vampire from the dark road her thoughts were on. Lisette turned and smiled gently at the human girl who had so willingly accepted her.

            “You make me forget those things, you know; I’ve dwelled on my existence every day since I was created. I hate what was done to me for no good reason except that he thought I was beautiful and that, in time, I could come to love him. I was just a girl…” she choked on a sob, almost feeling the sting of tears that would never come, as her body shook with grief.

            Aurelia rose and moved to stand in front of her friend, pulling Lisette into her arms so that she could stroke her hair and kiss the top of her head.

            “Shhhh, it’s over now, you only have the future to look forward to so there’s no sense dwelling on the past.” She spoke quietly as Lisette clung to her, like the child she’d been when she was torn away from her family, her human life and her very best friend. “And if it wasn’t for the past we’d have never met.” Lisette’s sobs quieted as she processed those words. She squeezed Aurelia tighter and buried her face in the front of her shirt.

            “I don’t understand why you’re in my life, or how you can possibly react to me the way that you do, but I’m thankful for it either way.” Lisette’s slightly muffled voice came from somewhere in Aurelia’s mid-section.

            “Me too,” Aurelia replied into Lisette’s hair.

            “I was only sixteen.” The words were just a whisper coming from Lisette’s mouth.           
            Aurelia knelt so that they were eye to eye, “You were what?”

            “I was only sixteen when he took me, my best friend looked away for a split second and I was gone.” The hate in her eyes was replaced with regret.

            “But when we met you said you ran away.” Aurelia countered suddenly, confused.

            “The truth would have just led you to more questions I couldn’t answer. It was easier to say that I ran away, I’ve been telling people that for years because I have seen the world and can back it up.” Aurelia gave a consenting shrug, Lisette was right.

            “I thought you said vampires don’t age,” Aurelia then challenged.

            “They don’t,” Lisette responded, seeing where this was going. “He kept me kind of as a pet for six years. He never bit me, he treated me like a princess trying to win me over with pretty dresses, expensive jewelry and anything else he thought would tempt me. When he realized that it wasn’t going to happen, he decided that his revenge would be to change me, I wouldn’t be able to go back to my family and that would force me to stay with him, because I’d be tied to my creator.

            “What neither of us expected was that my rage would be enough to destroy him, I knew that vampire blood would make me more powerful and help me go longer between feedings. He never saw it coming. One second I was unconscious and the next I could hear every sound in the entire house; that was when I knew what he’d done. I laid perfectly still for what seemed like decades, though it was only a few minutes. I listened to the sounds he made as he moved and calculated the distance between he and I.

            “He wasn’t nearly as careful as he should have been around another vampire, but he thought I was still unconscious. Later, I saw that he’d laid out restraints, but I had risen sooner than expected. He leaned over me to check my pulse and that was when I attacked him.” Lisette finished her sentence with an air of finality, like there was no more to say and that was that.

            Visions of what came next swirled through Aurelia’s head as she pictured Lisette draining the vampire down to nothing. She shuddered slightly and Lisette pulled away to look up at her face.

            “You really shouldn’t think about it. The things I’ve done in my lifetime are things that I never want to even get close to entering your head. Like you said the past is the past and now we can only look forward to the future, okay?”

            Aurelia gave a small smile and nodded, “Okay.”

 

            Later that day, they went for a walk on the beach and Lisette’s mind was swimming with all of the things she never wanted Aurelia to know she’d done and others that she may have to do in the future. She hadn’t told her that she was a slayer and that the vampire world feared her like nothing else, but they had no idea who she was.

            Lisette was a vicious assassin when it came to evil vampires; the permanent separation from the Sovereign had led them all to be more like humans, the good and bad alike. So there were vampire serial killers, rapists, thieves, drug dealers and anything else horrible you could think of. The worst part was that they were already predisposed to killing now that they relied on the blood of humans to survive.

            Unlike Lisette, many vampires wouldn’t dare drink vampire blood unless they were bonded to one another because it was an intimate act between vampires and the same held with humans. The invention of the refrigerator changed things for those who were alone and they no longer needed to cloud the minds of the humans they fed on, so that they’d forget they’d been bitten and sometimes slept with. But for Lisette the drinking of another’s blood was about power, the more powerful she was, the better she could protect herself and those that vampires would destroy for sport.

            What was she thinking? She wondered to herself. Here was this amazingly sweet girl who had opened her entire life up to a vampire like it was something she did every day. No- not every day. This was something special, something so sudden and unimaginably real that there was no explanation for it. She had done it like it was no big deal, like she had no qualms whatsoever, welcoming a monster into her life. She put absolute trust in Lisette and had no doubt that her well being and safety were in good hands.

            What must that feel like? Lisette had always been a protector, even with Saydie she’d kept a hawks eye out for boys who were less than gentlemanly and only allowed those whom she deemed worth of her friend to get anywhere near her. This is what she would do now, she was unable to just let her guard down and allow someone else to take care of her, to trust her life in the hands of another. She would protect Aurelia from the world and all of its horrors, from what she had become and from other vampires who would harm her just for fun.

            This is what she was willing to do for the human girl, no matter what the cost.