Blaise found the king’s company very aggravating because she couldn’t speak her true thoughts. She wanted to travel on her own, but when she suggested it, she was ordered to remain silent. Furious with the man at that point, she remained silent but not without her own thoughts of how to set him straight. She wasn’t a puppet. She wasn’t going to have strings pulled just so he could have the desired results. He either respected her or she was going to travel on her own.
They camped that night in a small hollow, protected from the wind by the dip in the land. Blaise found herself glaring at the king, aggravated with the casual way he sat to the shine of the buckle of his belt to his smug smile and brown eyes a person could almost trust. She finally couldn’t bear it anymore before she walked away from the king and his two guards. It didn’t take long before one of them started following her. She evaded them and started for the road. She be damned if she was going to travel with an insufferable control freak.
There was hoof beats pounding the ground, but she didn’t stop. “ Where do you think you’re going?” The king demanded from atop his steed as he kept pace with her.
She answered him in the coldest, harshest voice she was capable of. “ Home and away from you.” She was not going to subject herself to his control if she could help it. She agreed to help him, not let him control her.
He steered his horse in front of her. She made a move to go around it when he slid from the saddle and snared her in his arms. “ Why?” He asked.
She kept her calm. “ Because you’re trying to control my every thought. You’re already starting with telling me to remain silent. I am no one’s puppet.”
“ You swore your loyalty to me.” He reminded her.
She pulled away. “ I did, but I can withdraw it based on our terms of agreement.” She straightened her clothes, wishing he’d keep away from her. No wonder no one respected him. He was an idiot and didn’t know how to respect those he asked to help him. He deserved the disrespect.
The king stood there with a dark expression. “ You’re a citizen of Vimouf.” He reminded her like it actually meant something. With people moving from Ressine to Vimouf, and Especia to Ressine, she was just as capable of moving northward.
She glowered at him. “ And I can change location…oh say Ressine.” She returned smartly.
The king frowned. “ What is this confrontation about? Your stubbornness against following orders or me?” He demanded of her.
She crossed her arms and locked them over her chest. “ For starters, you telling me what to say. I say as I please. It’s the way I’ve raised myself. If I didn’t speak, I wasn’t heard and you’re trying to make me hidden from the world again.”
The king arched his eyebrow. “ I’m hiding you from the world?” He asked, a mocking smile on his lips.
She frowned. “ No, you’re not, but I speak when and where I want with what I want to say. There’s no question about it.” She glared at him. He was so thick headed. Didn’t he see what he was doing to her? He was restricting her, and she was a free bird that could fly anywhere anytime she wanted.
The king approached her. “ So to be clear, you want the right to say what you want when you want?” She nodded. “ If I allow this, you agree to not make me look bad.”
She frowned. “ Look here, Your Majesty, I am no lady. I will kick your a*s all the way to Ressine.” She threatened him heatedly.
He laughed. “ You really know how to use words, don’t you. So if you aren’t a lady, what are you? A bandit?” She glowered at him like he was lower than the lowest creature on earth. “ Or is something more mercenary? You are a Gull after all, woman or not.”
She clenched her fists. “ You’re pushing your luck, Your Majesty. I’d advise you to remain silent.” She declared coldly. “ Go back to your guards before I kick your a*s back to them.”
He laughed again. “ You, Gull, are an incredible person.” Then he walked back to the fire. She was forced to return minutes later because the cold was too much. She didn’t say a word to him.
The next day, they stopped in Amato Village. Blaise spoke shortly with Veda, who was trapped between two men determined to make each other disappear. Blaise said she’d like to see the king disappear. Veda laughed at her. Then they parted and Blaise set off for Wurner City again with the three men.
She didn’t mind the men. They were nice, except for the king, who grated her nerves purposefully. She nearly threw herself off Abbot’s horse to tackle the king off his steed. The king stopped the party right there and dismounted. She dismounted as well and squared off with him. “ You really are pushing your luck.” She declared chillingly.
He frowned. “ What’s wrong?” He asked, taunting her.
She made a move to elbow him, but he was quicker than her and trapped her arms behind her back. “ You want to know what’s wrong.” She started to say.
“ You and your behavior. No wonder everyone hates you. No wonder everyone wants to replace you.” She was really close to killing him, and she’d enjoy every second of it.
The king pressed the tip of a dagger to her throat. “ Go ahead. Just put me out of my misery. End me now. Do us all a favor and just spill my blood. End me.” She encouraged him in a cold, calculating voice. “ I’m no man’s puppet, and certainly no woman’s either. I do as I wish, come king or father to stop me.” She pushed him away with what strength her anger created.
The king recovered quickly from the shove and glared at her. “ You shoved me.” He said in disbelief.
“ And you’re trying to control me. Disappear like the fly you are.” She started to walk away when he jerked her into his arms. “ Your Majesty, I am not your puppet, nor will I ever be a puppet for anyone but myself. If you won’t treat me as so, then you can consider that oath of loyalty dust.”
The king did the unexpected. Kissing her brutally, she resisted at first. Then she melted into the warm embrace as all the tension in her body slipped away.
“ Let’s get one thing straight from here on out. I am the king and you are a citizen of Vimouf.” She nodded weakly. “ Remember that when I ask you to do something next time.” He released her, leaving her unbalanced from the confrontation and unexpected interest. She swayed before hitting the ground in a rush of pain.
“ Gather yourself so we can-”
He turned around to find her lying face first, unconscious. Rushing over to her, he knelt next to her and felt her pulse. Steady and reassuring, but the fever she was enduring was dangerously high. He unbuckled his canteen and wet his sword cleaning cloth. Mopping her forehead with it, he cradled her close. He would not have his last words be of hate. She better not be playing him like a fool just to punish him for his words.
Blaise felt weightless in the shapeless black world she was trapped in. She experimentally touched her fingertips together to see if there was any feeling. None. Then someone slowly appeared in front of her. She instantly recognized the man/woman as one from her dreams. “ The boy will die.” He/she spoke in his/her whispery voice. “ Unless you do what we ask.”
She saw Javon’s face before watching in horror as several men she knew well proceeded to corner him and nearly kill him. “ No.” Not Javon too. She couldn’t handle the loss of a child on her account. She couldn’t. Was she seeing true?
“ Receive the mark and he will live.” He/she bargained with Blaise.
Blaise held out her hand willingly. The man/woman moved over to her and covered her hand with the cool, silky hands. When they pulled away seconds later, there was a star and crescent move scarred into the middle of her palm. She felt herself become heavier. Her head pounded, and she woke with a start. Lurching forward, she vomited her food into the fire. Unsure where or what was happening to her, she fought off another wave of nausea.
“ Hold still.” The king’s luring voice pulled her in as his arms held her still. She obeyed, not in the least willing to put herself through anything strenuous yet. The night passed under his gentle, caring touch. She lost herself in it’s feathery touch and his seductive voice. When she woke again, it was morning, and she recognized Reve Road, the only road that would lead back into Balentine Town. She was close to home.
Home. Sweet home. The thought put a big smile on her face. She looked down at her palm where she remembered the star and crescent moon to be and saw them so beautifully shaped. “ Look. Isn’t it pretty?” She said to the king, showing the first sign of being a woman.
The king stared at her hand through half sleepy eyes. “ Look at what?” He asked her.
“ The star and crescent moon.” She pointed it out to him.
He frowned. “ Go back to sleep. You’re hallucinating.”
“ Can’t you see it?” She pressed stubbornly.
“ No. Now stop playing games with me.” He grumbled.
She moved away from him and bathed behind cover. When she reappeared, the men were just stirring. She cheerfully moved about camp cleaning up. She recognized the area where she vomited her food. Was she sick last night? Or was she really hallucinating? She had to know. She was ready to go when the men were halfway through preparing themselves.
“ What’s wrong, boys?” She asked them merrily as she flitted past them.
“ Too groggy?”
“ Get sick again.” Abbot snapped grumpily at her.
She ignored him as she moved past Rice and the king. Both had dark circles under her eyes. “ Morning. Aint it beautiful?” They ignored her. She went on to feed the horses and was waiting for the king on the saddle of his horse as the three men approached their steeds. “ So slow this morning. What’s the holdup?” She irritated them.
The king mounted quickly, his arm wrapping around her waist. “ Citizen.” He whispered in reminder.
“ My own puppet.” She reminded him sweetly.
“ We’ll see who wins.” He kicked his horse into a sprint. His guard weren’t far behind. They sprinted before slowing down as they entered Balentine Town. People moved aside for them, women calling out ridiculous requests of marriage and declarations of love, while those who felt the opposite glowered at them. Blaise was happy knowing that she wasn’t the target this time. It brightened her day considerably.
They passed through Balentine Town and were well on their way to Wurner City when they were forced to stop a day away from Wurner City because of the night’s impenetrable darkness. Blaise sulked. “ Almost home.” She moped.
The king gave her a strange look that didn’t take long for her to recognize.
“ Who do you go back to?” He asked her peculiarly.
She swallowed her evening meal without properly chewing and choked on it till it went down. “ None of your concern.” She rasped as she rubbed her throat.
The king chuckled. “ That’s what you say. I believe you have no one save that apprentice of yours.” He had no idea how correct he was. “ Which makes me make it infinitely clear what will done. You will remain with me at the inn for one night. Then I leave the next day, keeping my end of the bargain while you keep yours.”
She choked on her words. If his intentions weren’t clear before, they were now. “ I’m my puppet, not yours.” She reminded him.
“ And I’m the king. I get what I want.” The guards pointedly muted their conversation and spoke of something different to appear uninterested in this exchange of wills.
She stood up. So did he. The guards’ attention were pulled to them. “ I do as I please when I want to, not when you tell me.” She repeated fiercely. She was not going to be used.
He frowned. “ And I will not be denied one simple night. After all I did to see that you survived, you won’t allow it?” He made is sound as if it were a crime.
Her temper flared. “ I have my pride, and you are not the first to ask for that. I will not give it.” She was surprised by his quick advance and the strength of his arms as he crushed her to him. “ Your-”
His mouth claimed her, the storm sweeping her off her feet and into the sea of need and lust. She lost herself in it and when she resurfaced, he was gazing at her with a lover’s gaze. “ You will, whether you want to deny your body or not. Your body needs it just as mine does. What’s simpler than that, O fearless woman?”
“ Everything complicating.” She replied weakly. Goodness knows she wanted to but her pride was hell bent on winning. Stupid, stupid pride. “ Let me go.” She asked of him. He didn’t release her. She felt her temper flare again. “ Let me go before you realize how much pain I can cause you.” He backed away from her, perfectly aware of what she was aiming for.
The next morning, no one mentioned what happened last night again. When Blaise saw Wurner City again, she grinned ear to ear. That grin disappeared when the king dragged her to Red Wing Inn, then half man handled her to his room while the guards remained at the bar avoiding the awkward scene. Blaise made every effort to fight him till her efforts were feeble. Then she gave in to him.
He locked the door behind him before he turned to her and swept her off her feet. Laying her on the bed, he touched her cheek. “ As long as we’re clear, this isn’t rape, is it?” He asked her. She shook her head no, though her mind screamed yes. He kissed her persuasively before his hands took over. When he started to remove her clothes, she stopped him, eyes full of fear. “ What is it?” He asked her in frustration.
She couldn’t let him see her body of scars. No. Couldn’t let it happen. He went over her objections when she couldn’t voice them, his eyes flinching at the sight of the scars that mapped her body. She looked away, this what she feared. Then with his greedy hands, he seized control of her body till she was his to manipulate and control. He took her high and higher till she was ignorant of everything but his sexual strength and the very pleasure it ambushed her with. When he came down hard, she held onto him. Sweat covered their bodies. “ So the little girl isn’t a little girl.” He whispered in her ear.
She blushed. “ You weren’t the first.” She confirmed.
He propped himself up on his elbows. “ Who was?” He questioned her curiously. Who was the brave soul to bed her first?
She smiled faintly. “ Danus.” Werewolf he may be, but he was a good man.
He gave her a quizzitive look. “ Was he-” He couldn’t find the words.
She shook her head no. “ I was his first.” She shared intimately.
The king laughed. “ So I am the second.” He assumed.
She nodded. “ Like I said, my pride won’t let anyone use me like this easily.”
“ It let me.” He reminded her.
“I’ve been resisting this interest the moment you kissed me.” She shot back.
He arched his eyebrow. “ That so. Then tell me. What do see for your future when I’m involved?” He planted soft kisses on her brow and lips.
She laughed at him and wrapped her arms around his waist. “ I’m not sure. Occasional night interest. Tool you’re using to get to my father.”
He lowered himself onto her again. “ Do you mind the occasional night interest?” She shook her head no. “ Would you mind it if you were turned into a mother?” She paled.
“ Goodness no. I would hide the truth from the child for his/her-” She stopped speaking. What if her father hid the truth because he really did love her? It was almost hard to believe, but somehow she could almost believe it. “ That would never happen.” She assured him in a voice that was deceptively calm and certain.
He started planting light kisses along her neck. “ If it did?” He pressed.
She shuddered at the thought. “I’m not sure.” What would happen? Would she tell the child the king of Vimouf was his/her father? Could she ever take that risk if she ever did have a child to him? One comfort was that she would never have to fear for her or her child’s safety because the king would protect both of them.
“ Think on it.” He ordered her before pulling her into a wave of pleasure. When they fell this time, he watched her bathe quickly before she disappeared to find Javon. She was going to teach that boy how to defend himself before he ended up dead because of her. She said her goodbye to Abbot and Rice before leaving the inn.
Blaise found Javon resting at Argita Colleon’s cottage, Wurner City’s least experienced healer. Javon was sitting up in bed as he was trying to figure out how to unravel a series of rings from the cluster they seemed trapped in. “ Hey, kid.” She greeted weakly. “ Sorry I couldn’t have reached you sooner.” She was extremely sorry she went on the fruitless search when she had someone much more important and immediate in her life.
Javon tried to move from the bed, but Argita stopped him, giving Blaise a glare of disapproval. “ Blaise, I missed you.” She moved over to him and hugged him. He buried his face in her neck. “ I missed you more than you know.” He admitted shamelessly.
She patted him on the back. “ That’s alright. I have a surprise for you.” She shared with him her journey, not leaving out a single detail(except the inappropriate ones). Javon was enthralled. “ And after what happened here, you and I are going to have fun training. You and I are going to the blacksmiths, and you’re going to pick a weapon. I’m buying it for you.” She told him elatedly.
He grinned ear to ear. “ Really?” She nodded, enjoying the happiness so perfectly lighting up his innocent face. It was like her world was being set right by a single person’s happiness. It was too perfect for her to believe and trust.
The month passed quickly enough, but Blaise felt like she was missing something. She had the flurry of customers rushing to receive her help. She contacted several others who had results, and when it was all done, she felt like she knew something that could take her to her mother. She just didn’t know what.
“ Are you going to travel again, Blaise?” Javon asked her as they made their way around the city to the blacksmith for his weapon.
She nodded sadly. “ Not now though. I believe when I go I will hand it over to you for a little while. You’re a quick learner.” She made him glow, and the people who passed them thought they were mother and son. She gave the complimenting people a grin before it disappeared. Family was one thing she would never have. Not while she was under her father’s thumb. Maybe after her father was killed or when he was too weak to bother her.
The blacksmith’s shop appeared just around the corner and they entered the shop. The blacksmith and his apprentice were shaping a new sword. Blaise made their presence noticed, and the blacksmith handled them promptly. “ The kid needs a weapon.” She told the bearded man simply.
Javon started eyeing the weapons on the shelves with greedy eyes before his eyes landed on a long thin sword with words carved and going down the middle of it to the simple, short, and sturdy guard to the black leather hilt with a gold thread weaving to the bottom of the hilt. “ I want that one.” He told Blaise with envious eyes.
“ Good choice, boy.” The blacksmith said appreciatively as he took it from the wall. “This is our finest sword, made for the best of customer who would be willing to pay the price for the extra detail. It has a bit of magic in it because of the metal was taken from a Nouvan sword.” He explained to Blaise, who he assumed would pay.
Blaise took it from and tested it. It whistled through the air, the balance was perfect, and the weight wasn’t too bad. “ How much?” She demanded as she gave it back carefully.
The blacksmith worked the price out in his head. “ Considering the magic and..oh, about three hundred silver coins. A pretty fair price.”
Blaise flinched. Three hundred silver coins was a lot, even for what she made each day. “ Is it possible for the price to be lowered in exchange for my services.” He arched his eyebrow. She laughed. “ No. Not like that. I’m an investigator. I find answers for people’s questions. Mothers finding the fathers of their children, missing people, missing items, information, anything.” Except head hunting.
The blacksmith mulled it over. “Two fifty and no less.” He bargained with her.
She nodded. “ That I can manage.” She agreed. She pulled her coin pouch from her satchel and started counting. A half hour later, Javon was holding the weapon close to his chest like a newborn baby and Blaise’s coin pouch was empty. She would be tight on coins, but she would make due. She always did when she was in the rare spot. The last time she was in the spot was when she just purchased the office and was paying to decorate it.
“ Thank you.” Javon told her joyously.
“ It’s alright, kid. You and I are partners in crime. We take care of each other.” She brushed it off nonchalantly. Inside, she wanted to tell him that she would have gladly given the world to be his guardian. She would dedicate her life to giving him what she was deprived of.
Javon strapped it to his side. His face glowed. “ It feels like it was made to fit there.” He told her surprised.
She patted him on the head. “ Those weapons are the ones that fit us most. Now let us start your lessons.” She lead him to a sparring field where she started showing him the basics. He enjoyed every sweaty, aching moment. She left him at his home later that night before she retired to her own. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she couldn’t discover what was nagging at her begging to be discovered.
They settled into a routine the month of May that kept them from missing life’s many trials. In the morning and for the early evening, they managed customers. In the evening, she trained Javon at the sparring field. On one of their many walks back to their homes, Javon asked her a question. “ Blaise, if you’re half vampire, why aren’t you a blood sucking parasite?” She disliked his accurate choice of words.
She shrugged. “ Half vampires are special. They have the ability to be half stronger than the strongest warrior. They are human, so they require no blood.”
“ So that means your undefeatable because you were trained since childhood.” He remarked thoughtfully. It made him want her beside him in battle even more.
“ It should, shouldn’t it?” Was Walton Green hiding something from her? Was he too half vampire? He was the only one who stood a chance against her. Even Roald Bratte didn’t stand a chance against her, and he was raised by a mercenary.
“ Javon, I’m traveling to The Cluster Villages. I need you to stay here to manage our customers. You have a copy of the keys to the files, and you know everything you need to know. I will give you -”
Javon frowned, his dimples appearing. “ Why are you going there?” She explained about Walton before Javon interrupted. “ What good will it do? He hasn’t told you much anyway.” It was true. The kid had a point.
She nodded, seeing his point, but if she didn’t do something, she’d miss out on her mission that meant so much to her. “ I have to try. In any case, you will finally see what you’re made of.” She told him confidently. He didn’t appear so confident.
She left a few days later, leaving him with all he would need. She traveled quickly, purchasing a horse on the way through Edos Village. The mare was a creature of beauty, pure black and very ill tempered. She named the mare Devilita. Travel was much quicker, and she found the comfort of the mare much more satisfying than she thought it would be. She arrived in Malta Village three days cut off her previous traveling time.
“ Nice animal.” Walton greeted her when she approached him and the other two warriors that made up Roald’s group, Curtis Uzuk and Evan Princ.
Curtis and Evan gave her a friendly smile before returning to their conversation. “ She’s my Devilita. Perfect for me. Which is beside the point. Javon and I were speaking the other day. He made me realize that I should be better than the best and strongest warrior, yet you match me. Which means you’re a half vampire.”
Walton tried to laugh it off. “ Impossible.” His shaking voice gave him away.
“ I’m surprised you discovered me out.” He sounded greatly relieved, like he wanted her to know.
She nodded, on a mission with no obstacle to stop her. “ And to make the matters worse, you also met the woman that is the contact manager. She denied you and you think she’ll do it to me.” She compounded logically.
He nodded, wishing she were less attentive. “ I didn’t want to see you raise your hopes and then have them dashed.” Like his, he didn’t have to add for her to know.
“ Who was the parent?” She asked curiously.
“ My father.” He shared with her quietly.
She held out her hand. “ Can you see anything on my palm?” She had tried it on everybody since she discovered she was the only one capable of seeing it. The king, Abbot Oleskar, Rice Widow, Javon Faro, her various customers. No one could. Walton shook his head no. “ Damn. I’m must not be sane because I see a star and crescent moon scarred so perfectly there.” She told him.
Walton motioned for her to move inside. “ So tell me. What’s her name?” She asked him quietly.
Walton faced her like he was facing death. “ I want to tell you, but she made me promise to keep it to myself.” He told her regretfully.
“ What didn’t she make you promise?” Blaise asked carefully. The loop holes were where she always won.
Walton lowered his voice. “ She has this way of traveling in one area. She says its for peacekeeping, but I think it’s to find people like us.” He spoke so casually he could have convinced anyone he was proud of what he was. Blaise could read into his eyes and saw differently. Something that resembled regret but wasn’t quite regret.
Peacekeeping? Veda? No, it couldn’t. But the pieces fell so perfectly. “ It wouldn’t happen to be a short woman about my height, light blond hair down to here, and with a short sword arm shield stashed away in her saddlebag, would it?” His expression of horror revealed it to be true. “ I knew there was something odd about her.” She muttered victoriously. So her gut instincts proved to be true.
Blaise didn’t waste anymore time with Walton after her question had been answered and her suspicion had been confirmed. She tore a hot trail across the land for Amato Village. When she arrived, she waited for Veda when she couldn’t discover where Veda was. When Veda arrived three days later, ragged and dark circles under her eyes, Blaise was half tempted to let her rest. She didn’t fall to it, determined to win the battle.
“ Rest easy, friend. I know what you want.” Veda addressed her interest immediately. “ We will speak after I am presentable.” Blaise let her go to her home and waited at the inn impatiently. When Veda appeared in front of her, Blaise was at a loss for words. “ I see your desires and I know what you know. Now tell me what you plan to do if I can arrange it.”
Blaise didn’t expect Veda to cooperate so easily. “ I plan to speak to her. Ask her why she tried to steal me from my father and so many other questions like why she hasn’t tracked me down. My father is a noticeable man.” She told Veda passionately. “ I am so close to meeting her and so far. The taste is there. I can taste it like smoke. It’s there.”
Veda nodded. “ You may not be ready for what you will find. Your mother isn’t a pleasant individual.”
“ Neither is my father.” Blaise pointed out. “ But I think very few people rival him.” That was her opinion carved in stone because it was true. Each word of it. Nothing contradicted it.
Veda beckoned for the waitress. The girl came over and took their orders for the evening meal. When the girl left, Veda faced Blaise. “ If you meet your mother, your life will only get more complicated.” She warned with good intentions.
Blaise scoffed. “ What harm can she do when I already have a king in my bed and a devil father hunting my freedom?” As she saw it, she was wedged between two powerful people that could easily reach her with a little determination.
Veda agreed it was almost nothing. “ I will see if she will speak to you, but she had already given you up as a lost cause.” Blaise was hurt by the truth, more than she thought she could be hurt by a ghost of person. “ Please set aside your feelings. You’ll discover that she is more human than any other vampire you’re bound to meet.” She contradicted her former statement.
Blaise nodded as she thought how inhuman a typical vampire was. “ I want to know when this is possible. My apprentice is running the business, and I only want to push him to a limit that will test his skill, not his endurance.” She expressed her concern for Javon. She missed him already.
Veda nodded, seeing what Blaise held so dear. “ A few days, but it means you must be patient. I will take you with me into vampire territory, but you will have to obey my every command.” She expressed a concern from the depths of her heart.
Blaise was distinctly reminded of her in Javon’s position and Veda in hers. It was all too familiar. “ Very well. You have it.” She swore faithfully.
Veda grinned. “ Good. We start tomorrow at dawn.” She told Blaise.
The next morning, they set out at dawn. Blaise found traveling with Veda very peaceful. “ Tell me about my mother, Veda. Was she a monster?” She questioned Veda to stir up conversation. Travel passed with conversation, and Veda was easy to talk to.
Veda gave Blaise a curious look before speaking. “ You are not a monster, Blaise. If you were, I would have seen it. No parent can make you a monster. Not by blood nor by enforcing will.” Blaise tried to believe her words, but she had seen too many people do otherwise. “ As for your mother, she’s not a monster. She likes to control-”
Blaise could feel her heart sinking. So there was going to be another power controlling her. The king already laid claim to her loyalty. Her father laid claim to her blood. What would her mother lay claim to?
“-people, but she loves family. She’ll treat you like no other, save Vantrice. Vantrice is her second daughter, and your half sister. Vantrice’s father is very weak in the sense that he can not deny Inari anything.” She stopped speaking as if bothered by something foul.
Blaise never thought she could have a sister. She wandered if her and Vantrice would get along. She hoped so. “ Why aren’t you living in the colony, Veda?” She asked curiously. Wasn’t the colony safer for a vampire? More practical?
Veda grinned. “ I’m a contact manager, Blaise. I keep track of my contacts in person while your mother keeps track of hers by a magical map that leads her straight to their exact location.” She explained patiently, finding Blaise‘s question very fitting.
“ Why I’m still alive.” She muttered. Two powerful parents. So her mother had tried to use her father as a contact. “ Was my mother trying-”
Veda nodded. “ You’re a very perceptive person. Inari will appreciate that a great deal. Please tell me what you know of the vampire race.” She turned the tables.
“ There are three groups of vampires. One is the ultimate vampire, strong during the day and night compared to the dark and light vampire which are weak to the opposite of what their names are and strong in the opposite of their weakness. Half vampires are half stronger than the strongest human, their senses included. The colony is lead by a woman called a Mother. Is there anything specific you wanted to hear?”
Veda beamed. “ At least you understand the basics of what you are a part of. Please go on. What do you know of our religions?” She was finding this girl very pleasing to be around.
Blaise admitted she knew nothing. Veda started the lessons. “Our religion is simple. We worship the god of blood and goddess of night. Their respective names are Numar and Xisseen. We worship them by offering our own blood, several drops, into an altar bowl. Then we say the sacred prayer.”
“ Like the werewolves prayer of safe journey.” Blaise commented casually.
Veda scowled. “ Werewolves and their foul way of life is nothing like the vampire life. Do not compare us again to them.” She snapped fiercely.
Blaise hastily apologized as she moved away from her. “ Is the prejudice against werewolves that stiff?” She asked. Veda nodded, giving her an apologetic look. “ If I had known, I would have not said that. But the prayer of journey is sacred as well. That’s what I meant by the comparison.” She explained herself.
Veda went on. “ According to our myths, the god of blood mated with the goddess of night to sire the first vampire. The first vampire, a woman, was named Desma. Desma mated with a the second vampire sired by the god of blood and birth by the goddess of night, a man named Bardimus. It is from them we descended according to myth, but the scholars of our race believe we were born from the land itself not by the gods we worship. There are a fair few that share their opinion.” She declared this with distaste, making it clear who she was siding with.
Blaise nodded, intrigued by this. “ Why do you prefer myth?” She asked. There were many people who preferred myth over fact, and she always wondered why when fact was so much easier to understand. Then again, that was just her opinion.
Veda pondered her answer before speaking. “ Did you ever place your faith in something so long you can’t tear it away from that? Because your faith is too concrete?” Blaise nodded, feeling that exact way with her scimitars and her belief her father was irreversibly evil. “ I feel that way about the myth. Everyone has to have something other than fact to believe in. Just have a little faith anyway.” Blaise understood her perfectly.
Blaise casually asked Veda if she could see anything on her palm, and when Veda said she couldn’t, Blaise was stymied. Why could she see the star and crescent moon if no one else could? What mark did she receive? “ I’m personally a person who believes facts. Facts I can work off of. Myth I can’t.”
They eyed each other now, like night and day in some ways. Blaise tolerated the enemy and believed in fact. Veda couldn’t stand the comparison of werewolves and vampires and believed in myth. It was all a start to something Blaise was sure would be a fruitful and interesting friendship. “ Tell me more about the vampires. How do they live besides the mothers taking care of the children and every father is responsible for training the children?” Veda answered her question. Blaise kept the questions flowing.
After two days of traveling, they crossed into vampire territory. Veda became much more alert and spoke less often. Blaise studied the area, finding it no different than Vimouf. Still, she wasn’t foolish enough to believe it safe for her. “ Are you uneasy because of my presence or something else?” Blaise asked her after a day of traveling in the territory. She was uneasy because of the whole experience in itself. She was going to meet her mother in a colony of vampires as a half vampire child. There couldn’t be less dangerous circumstances.
Veda didn’t answer her immediately. Blaise noticed there were very few roads on the land they traveled, which showed the vampires lead a very selective life.
“ Both. I’m not well liked at the moment.” Blaise understood that feeling all too clearly. She didn’t ask Veda why she wasn’t liked, but she promised herself to ask her when the time was safer.
The dense forest soon gave way to freer areas, easing Blaise’s discomfort with her mild case of claustrophobia. Veda stopped her as they neared a lake with a deer carcass floating in it. “ There are hunters in the area. We must be careful.”
Blaise didn’t understand what hunters were capable of and if they were more than just the name implied, but she was trusting Veda to take care of her like Javon trusted her take care of him. “ Lead the way.” She told Veda trustingly.
Veda lead the way through a very thin trail, before she tried to turn around. Blaise recognized the look as the one she had on her face that day she took Javon with her to investigate the murder near the Ghost Whisperer’s house. She turned around too, but it was too late. They were trapped. Four hunters stopped them from escaping in any direction. “ Do what you have to do. Let me handle them.” Veda ordered her harshly.
Blaise nodded. She spurred Devilita into motion, but the mare reared up. The hunter in front of her drove a spear through Devilita’s heart. Blaise leapt from the mare’s back and charged the hunter. The hunter caught her over the head with a hard object. Falling hard, she gritted her teeth as rolled out of the way just in the nick of time as a sword slice the earth where her head had been. With a burning headache, she jumped to her feet and was tackled onto her back by the hunter.
His face was coiled into a snare, his fangs glinting in the light. She shivered at the thought of them being driven into her skin. Punching him hard in the face, she was surprised when he pulled away, his nose broken. Unable to throw him off, she tried to reach her scimitars, but his hands stopped her. Never feeling so outmatched, she prayed that Veda would hurry up before she became vampire food. Veda answered her prayer, tackling him off her seconds later.
Jumping to her feet, she unsheathed her scimitar and faced the remaining hunter that Veda abandoned to save her. She beckoned the hunter to her and waited. His movement was so predictable. She lured him to the left. When she spun to the right, she was genuinely surprised when her scimitars made contact and his head rolled to her feet seconds later. She didn’t expect to prevail in battle against a vampire, much less survive to tell the tale. Nor did she expect the hunter to fall for a common trick.
“ Well done.” Veda complimented her as she approached Blaise from behind. The four hunters lay dead. Three to Veda and one by Blaise. “ Collect your things. We’ll leave the mare behind. We can’t stall because other hunters will come soon.” Blaise nodded. She gave Devilita’s lifeless form a sad look before agreeing. It didn’t help to become attached to things that weren’t meant to be around forever. Blaise collected her items and they set off through the forest with Veda’s steed.
“ Thank you.” Blaise finally said when nothing else could be said.
“ He was toying with you.” Veda told her unmercifully. “ You’re my charge, and your mother would never forgive me.”
Blaise still felt like she owed Veda. “ How can I repay you?”
Veda answered her as they stopped. “ We’ll work that out later. Right now we’re in serious trouble.” The three hunters Blaise could see came at them from the three frontal angles. Blaise unsheathed her scimitars, ready to battle. She was taken out from behind, her face flying to meet the ground as her feet were yanked into the air. Hitting the ground hard, she twisted and jabbed instinctively. The hunter released her. She jumped to her feet and was knocked down. Her back hurt from the jerking sensation.
Twisting away from the hunter, she gasped when a blade speared her left thigh. A second later, she cried out as the blade was wrenched from her thigh and more vampires joined the battle. Pain blurred Blaise’s view as she tried to stand. Her blood dripped down her leg as she pulled herself to her feet by a tree. Nearly collapsing on her left leg, she clenched her scimitars in her hands with a iron strong hold. Then she collapsed, the blood loss too much. Blacking out, she gripped her scimitars relentlessly…
Into the blissful darkness she escaped. Weightless without any feeling in her body. “ Is she going to live?” A worried female voice invaded the silent blackness.
“ She should.” A male voice responded confidently.
“ Who was behind the hunters?” The female demanded, now angry.
The man hesitated with his speaking. “ Rumor has Casper.”
The woman’s hissing voice cut through Blaise’s sensitive hearing. “ He will pay. Of that you can be certain.” Blaise reached out to this voice, sensing this woman cared for her. She slowly opened her eyes, the vision of herself in a very ticked off mood meeting her eyes. She blinked, the vision changing slightly. “Where does this rumor originate?”
“ Veda.” The man said.
Blaise flicked her gaze to the man, and she saw he was as tall as the woman, had long hair pulled into a ponytail, and eyes of an intense blue. He appeared scared of the woman that looked like her. “ Water.” She asked for in a raspy voice. God, it hurt to breathe even.
The woman was first to respond and poured her a glass of water. Blaise sat up and went to swing her legs over the edge of the bed she lay on. Letting out a cry of pain as she shifted her left leg, she stopped the attempted move. Draining the water into her burning throat, she set the glass down on the stand and took in her surroundings.
She was in a large room double the size of her home. Entirely constructed of stone, the floors and walls were covered in objects. The floor was covered with several carpets of a deep blue except near the fireplace on the other side of the room. The walls were covered with portraits of people she had glimpsed in her dreams. She would have to ask about them later. To her left was a window with light blue curtains. To her right was double doors with a symbol carved in it. She lay on a canopy bed that was big enough for three people.
Touching her bandaged leg, she remembered the blade tearing into her thigh.
“ What happened to Veda?” She asked concerned. Was her protector alright?
“ I’m right here.” Veda told her from the corner. Blaise spotted her moving in the dark corner near the window.
Blaise gave her a smile. “ Thank you for protecting me.” She said warmly, wishing she could hug the woman.
Veda shrugged it off. “ No worries. I find you extremely easy to take care of.”
“ And you allowed her to be attacked by hunters.” The woman snapped at her. “ My daughter isn’t something you-”
Blaise studied her mother now. “ So you are Inari.” She said softly. This was the woman that gave birth to her and tried to steal her from Eros. A shame she didn’t succeed.
Inari nodded. “ Yes. I have missed you for some time. When Veda came to me with your body, and my warriors with the news you were attacked by hunters, I was not the best person to be around.” Veda just shook her head, choosing to say nothing more. “ It has been some time since I have sensed you. Now that you are here, it is as if the hole is gone.”
Blaise cocked her head. “ What hole?” What was she talking of?
“ The hole a vampire mother feels when she without her child.” The man told her. “ Your mother has suffered a great deal.” He gave her a disapproving look as if she was responsible.
She rose to the accusation. “ I didn’t run away on my baby legs so don’t go looking at me like that. I risked my life to come here and I won’t deal with a prick like you.” The man arched his eyebrow in challenge, eyeing her leg in question.
“ Injury or no injury, I will rise from this bed and knock-”
Inari stepped in and pressed Blaise back onto the bed as she tried to rise from it. “ Easy child. He does not know of what he speaks. Rest.” Blaise obeyed her mother, simmering from the man’s insult. She was not responsible for anyone’s unhappiness. The man could blame Eros Gull if he wanted to blame someone.
Veda excused herself. The man followed her. Inari eyed her hostile daughter with a loving eye. “ I imagined this moment from the day I lost you and I’m not disappointed in the least. You have grown so beautifully.”
“ Not without scars.” She replied regretfully. When would it come that she was scarred beyond recognition? Hopefully never, but at the rate she was going, it would be by the age of thirty. “ Did you try to steal me from Eros?” She asked Inari bluntly.
Inari’s harsh laugh was all the reply she needed, but Inari’s words provided more insight to her parent’s relationship. “ Your father was a horrible man from the moment I met him. It was he who stole you when you were born. I was intending to use him, but when I realized he would do no good as a contact, it was too late to stop what had been started. You were conceived.”
Blaise tried to imagine what her purpose would have been. Inari read her thoughts. “ You were a child of my will, Blaise. Your father was my tool. I tried to be courteous to him by allowing him to see you born, but he betrayed me and tried to kill me. Veda saved me from him, but he stole you. My baby girl. My baby girl who I would have called Rosilda, after my grandmother who foresaw your birth. My baby girl.” Those soft words sank right to Blaise’s bleeding heart and healed the wound instantly.
Blaise reached out for her mother’s hand and grabbed it. “ Your baby girl is alive because of you, mother. I couldn’t have asked for more than this meeting.” She pulled her mother into a heartwarming hug. “ I have looked forward to this meeting as well and I am not disappointed in you. You are no monster.” She pecked her mother’s cheek and smiled. “ I am pleased to know you are a true mother.” How could she not be a nice person? Veda had to be wrong.
Inari started to cry. Blaise wiped the tears away. “ You have blessed me enough, child.” Her emotional voice made Blaise happy.
“ Call me Rosilda if it pleases you.” She asked of her mother kindly. She liked the name. It definitely had no connection to Eros Gull.
Inari beamed. “ Rosilda.” She was pulled into a tight hug, closing her eyes and enjoying the moment of loving care. “ Please do not leave me again.”
Blaise patted her awkwardly on the back. “ I have business in Wurner City, mother. I have an apprentice whom I’m teaching how to defend himself and an investigative business that helps people find everyone and everything they need. I would stay if I could.” Oh she wanted to with all her heart, it hurt.
Inari pulled away. “ Then I will come there to see you. Oh, it is a relief to know Eros did not taint you as his father tainted him.” Blaise wandered what else her mother knew of her father, but she did not ask. Some things were best left unmentioned.
Blaise nodded. “ I am sorry that he was raised the way he was. I wish he had the chance to be something else.” She spoke truly of her father. She may have hated him more than words and actions could express, but she did wish he had a chance to come out different. Roald had helped her realize a person was made into who they were only if they let someone have the power to do so. Her father could have defied his father, but his life might have been lost in the struggle. Her father didn’t have the strength she did, nor the conviction and purpose.
Inari smiled brightly. “ So. You are the king’s mistress. What else have you managed to attain?” There was pride in her voice.
Blaise laughed. “ The king is merely a dot in my accomplishments. The true accomplishments are the smiles and thanks I receive from my customers when I give them the information they need to continue on with life. By those, I have plenty.” She boasted humbly. “ Javon is my biggest. My apprentice who knows of what I am and who I am, but cares for me as if I am his mother.”
Inari nodded. “ Maybe it’s because you took the time to carry out the role. His guardians may just be guardians.” She suggested.
Blaise shrugged. “ Maybe so, but it is what it is. And you, mother? What use will you use me for?” She wanted to know so that it did not hang over her head any more. She needed no surprises.
Inari smiled. “ You are my daughter. That is all you will be. I will not use you. Just having you close to my heart is all that matters.” She kissed Blaise on the cheek and smiled ever so happily. “ When you are better, you can leave. First I would like you to meet your half sister, Vantrice, and then after Vantrice, the warriors that saved you and Veda.”
“ Of course.” Blaise agreed. How could she deny her mother that? After all, she wanted to meet Vantrice. And she did desire to thank those who saved her.
“ Oh, mother, where are my scimitars?”
Inari pointed to the fireplace, where they rested, shining spotlessly. “ I will return shortly.” She promised before leaving.
Blaise waited for her mother to return as she thought about the past few months that have seized her life. In comparison to her past, they were happy indeed. Not only had she unintentionally helped Gadriel’s family discover his fate, she accepted Javon as her apprentice and took him under her wing completely. Even more, she managed to help more people with their troubles and secured the king as a lover. There wasn’t a single complaint she had with the past few months. They were too incredible to overshadow with regrets and small complaints.
Her mother returned with a young woman that looked a few years younger than her and completely different from her. Vantrice approached her cautiously, causing Blaise to laugh. What harm could she do in her present condition? “ So you are my half sister.” She held out her hand, waiting for Vantrice to shake it.
Vantrice glowered at her. “ Half breed.” She spit out.
Inari’s face contorted with disappointment and anger. “ Vantrice, remember your manners. She is blood.” The reminder was curt and full of authority.
Vantrice ignored Inari. “ How dare you enter our lives? How dare you endanger my mother’s success by showing your person here? Do you know the impact you’ve made by coming here?” She continued viciously.
Blaise blinked. Was Vantrice accusing her of what she was thinking she was being accused for? First the man and now her half sister. Wonderful. She wasn’t liked. She should be used to it, but Vantrice’s words stung. “ I’m sorry my wishes don’t agree with yours, sister, but I do have my life’s mission to worry about just as you do yours.” She declared civilly. She was determined to win Vantrice over.
Vantrice glowered at her. “ Do you know what you’ve done to mother’s credibility? You’ve ruined it. Now no one will respect her because of your existence. It was best you were thought of as lost.”
Inari cut in. “ Vantrice, is there anything pleasant you have to say? If not, leave. I will not have this moment ruined by your bitterness and jealousy.”
Blaise watched as Vantrice considered what their mother said before speaking again. “ If you know what’s good for you, you won’t show your face here again.” Vantrice left the room, Inari scowling.
Blaise spoke to her to stop her from going after Vantrice. “ Mother, ignore her. She is just going through emotions that I can understand. By coming here, I threaten your power. By my existence, she no longer has you to herself. I understand that much. Just let her sort it out for herself. She’ll recover when she is ready.” Inari swallowed her words and followed her advice. Blaise hoped she would recover.
Then five men entered the room followed by Veda and another woman that was familiar. Inari introduced the men by name. “ Durwood, Gilmore, Marquez, Ragnar, and Taj. Veda, you know. Beside Veda is your great grandmother, Rosilda.”
Blaise nodded. “ A pleasure to make everyone’s acquaintance. Grandmother, I would like to speak to you privately after this. Is that permitted?” Rosilda nodded.
She faced the five men. “ Thank you for saving my life and thank you for helping Veda as well.” They gave Inari a questioning look. “ What is it?” She asked. Was everyone going to be giving her this treatment. It was starting to grow old.
Inari spoke what they were asking her. “ They find your manners somewhat surprising under the respect that every human they saved they have been insulted by. You are the first to actually be kind to them.”
Blaise understood. “ Respect goes a long way. Love lasts a lifetime. Wise words that I have lived by faithfully.” She assured them all. Wise words of a wise man.
“ Wise words indeed.” Rosilda agreed.
Blaise blushed. “ I am in great debt to you all, especially you, Veda, for making this possible. Thank you, everyone, but I would like to speak to my grandmother now.” She inserted herself smoothly.
Inari respectfully obeyed her wish, ushering the men from the room. Veda followed but not before giving her an appreciative smile. Rosilda remained. “ I can see you are wondering a great number of things.” She stated bluntly.
Blaise nodded. “ As far as I am concerned, I want to trust you. Every word I say to you, can it be kept between you and me?”
Rosilda cocked her head. “ Why?”
Blaise frowned. She hadn’t expected to explain herself. “ I need to understand exactly what I’m entering. I know my mother just wants me as a daughter, but I realize I’m a great source for a contact and I know others will try to use me. I’m sure that Veda won’t, but then again, I don’t know her well enough to be firm with that decision.” She said honestly. Sometime the truth conflicted with personal feelings.
Rosilda beamed. “ You are wiser beyond your age.” She remarked appreciatively. Most humans she’d met were young in their thoughts.
Blaise nodded. “ I have to be.” It was the unforgivable truth.
Rosilda sat next to her. “ What truth do you want? The one that is brutal and true or the one that is pretty and untrue?” Not everyone knew what they truly wanted.
Blaise took a deep breath. “ The brutal and true truth. I need it to make good decisions.” Did she ever make good decisions save for the one to move to Wurner City? Nevermind that thought. She was living, wasn’t she?
Rosilda nodded. “ Then you and I will be frank with each other. I am only privy to those thoughts you don’t guard with your soul. So I only know what you choose to show us. I want your honesty in return for honest answers.” Blaise said she would give it.
Rosilda approached the topic very carefully. “ Werewolves are our enemies. You will be even more hated for finding them amiable. I warn you to guard your friendships with werewolves with your soul unless you are ready for a preaching. As for your bloodline, it is half human so you will be looked down upon and with hatred. Do not expect different. Vantrice’s reaction was only minor compared to the colony’s feelings on half vampires.”
Blaise grinned. “ Good. I like people who find me intolerable. It keeps them away from me.” Most anyway. And she did like it. Most of the time.
Rosilda laughed at her. “ You are an odd child. I predicted your birth and your hard raising, but I didn’t predict this as your final destination.” She reached out and held Blaise’s hand. “ You have suffered much and persevered with your good character. You are so strong and so brittle at the same time.”
Blaise didn’t know what to say to that. “ So I am to expect what else in terms of people using me?” She asked distastefully. Using people was one thing, and using people and giving them something in return was something else.
Rosilda resumed her honest answering. “ Some people you will have to obey, others you can ignore. Please do not anger the Mother of this colony. She will speak to you now that she is aware of your presence. Respect her and she will do the same. Your mother is only on the middle of the power chain. She can only shield you from so much. Do not strain her abilities and ties with people.” Her great grandmother begged her.
Blaise squeezed her hand. “ Don’t you worry about me shaming my mother. It is the last thing I desire to do.” She declared bluntly. It was the last thing she ever wanted to do now that she knew her mother was her ally and had no intention of putting strings on her. She sighed. She liked the family she had by her mother, including her furious sister, Vantrice. “ As for Vantrice, will I ever be on her good side?” She asked hopefully.
Rosilda shrugged. “ Vantrice is a child of her own nature. She has no heart, and she uses people to achieve her own ends. She loves her mother, though that would not stop her from harming her mother in a heartbeat if the occasion was suited for it. You must be careful around her. You are threatening the power she has through your mother.” Blaise understood that very well because her father’s was threatened by her growing popularity, and he didn‘t react very well.
Blaise nodded. “ I will do my best to apologize to her as soon as I see her.” She swore faithfully. She wanted to like her sister so much she was disappointed Vantrice told her never come back or die.
Rosilda patted her hand. “ You will be welcomed with open arms, Blaise, but please realize not all will welcome you. Now I have a quilt to resume working on, but if you desire my company, I’m only a room away. As my grand daughter said, you are a beautiful woman. Don’t ever lose that shine.” Rosilda pecked her on the forehead and left.
Blaise was left alone after that, and she retreated into her thoughts before sleep took over. She woke with a smile on her lips. Her thigh was numb, and as she moved it, she winced. Forcing herself out of bed, she hobbled over to the wash basin and bathed awkwardly before changing into a fresh set of clothes left with a note from her grandmother. When she wandered towards the door, she hesitated. Did she want to wander the colony?
Without another moment of hesitation, she stepped into the hall and was startled by the many portraits of the people that most likely lived at the colony. Hobbling along, she touched her scimitars at her sides out of comfort. The thigh began to numb again, but she ignored it. She passed several people, all glaring at her. She didn’t ask what the issue was because she knew. She was the issue. By blood and association.
“ A human wandering our home. It’s a shame to be reversed.” A particular haughty woman she passed as she entered the library muttered darkly.
Blaise found it easy to ignore them all as she took in the beauty of the vast library. “ It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Durwood surprised her.
She whirled around to find him studying her with curious eyes. “ Yes, it is. I only have twenty seven books at home. This is a heaven to me.” She swayed before she found his arms wrapped around her waist holding her straight. “ Thank you, Durwood. I guess I taxed my body too much.”
He helped her onto a chair. “ I’m surprised you are even alive. The wound was enough to kill any ordinary half breed.”
“ Is that what half vampire half human children are called?” She asked. She was beginning to dislike the name and the disgust it was accompanied with.
He nodded. “ I meant no offense.” He told her.
“ None taken. As for the strength. I guess I’m stronger than I look or I have guardian angels looking over me.” She laughed at herself. “ Ghosts of them anyway in my dreams.” She didn’t bother explaining what she meant. “ I wish I could help you in return for what you did for me.” She relayed her appreciation.
Durwood appeared surprised. “ You wish to repay me?” She nodded. “ I can not accept it because I was only following orders.”
She didn’t let him escape it. “ But you saved me nonetheless. My life means a great deal to me, and I help everyone who helps me. It’s only fair.” She insisted nobly. Would anyone ever realize the price of life?
He smiled. “ I am pleased you are so noble, but I can not. Your mother would not allow it.”
“ If I asked her?” Blaise shot back readily. She was very determined.
“ Then I wish for your advice on human women and why they are so interested in vampire men.” He replied seriously.
She laughed. “ That’s not a repayment. That’s something I could give without meaning. A serious request please.”
He leaned forward in his chair opposite of her and grinned. “ I want to see your skill in battle once you are healed. I promise to use human speed.”
She held out her hand. He shook it. “ You’re on.” She challenged him.
He grinned. “ Now about-”
She smiled. She liked him. He was easy to like. She answered his curiosity as best as she could. They sat in a comfortable silence for a long time before he left and returned with tea. They drank in silence. She broke it. “ Why are you so kind to me?” She asked him.
He answered as if he foresaw the question. “ I respected the fact you did not choose your lineage, nor did you choose to be attacked. You respected my sacrifice and I am forced to respect you in return by my own conscious and character. You aren’t evil, and you carry on shoulders a good level head for the things people go through.” His honest answer caused her to blush in embarrassment. So much praise she could float in a sea of it. “ It is true.” He assured her.
Curiosity got the best of her. “ How are you able to see my thoughts as if I speak them?”
He barely smiled. “ We have the ability to sense emotions as well as thoughts. Only the thoughts a person considers too sacred to share are the ones we can not read. You do not consider much sacred save the mystery behind the names and faces of Gadriel and Danus.”
She wasn’t surprised. They were her two most important memories. The first time she felt real and appreciated. “ I cared about them greatly because they were there when I had no one and I was broken beyond repair.” She shared with him slightly embarrassed.
He nodded. “ We all have people like that.” He stated matter of factly.
Durwood walked her back to her room after they finished the tea, and he remained with her for the evening as they ate dinner. Blaise didn’t ask him why he stayed by her because she half expected it was out of curiosity, admiration, and friendship. Their conversation was earnest as was the respect they shared for each other. Their dinner was interrupted for a woman unmistakably the Mother of the colony. Durwood left the room immediately.
Blaise faced this woman with nervousness. “ Welcome, Mother. I am Blaise Gull, daughter of Inari of-”
The woman eyed her critically before speaking in a flat tone. “ With your appearance here, it presents a slight problem when you return to your home. I want your word you will not reveal what you know of this place when you leave.”
Blaise nodded. “ You have my word. I would never endanger allies nor the rest of the people. I am only a visitor with little intention of drawing attention to this place.” She told the woman firmly. She meant every word of it.
The woman went on. “ Your friendship with the werewolves is unfortunate. However I will not make you undo it. I will however warn you against telling them anything of this place or what is connected to it.” Blaise didn’t have to hear the second part of the warning to know what it was. “ You are wise. You will obey this.”
“ Yes, I will.” She agreed. Why wouldn’t she?
The Mother seemed to breathe easier now. “ Welcome, child of Inari of Etheru Bloodline. Heal well and return home safe.” She wished Blaise before leaving. Durwood entered the room again.
“ I see the meeting went well.” He remarked. “ She is kind to everyone, and you have met the expectations she had heard from your mother. She respects you.”
Blaise glowed. “ That is definitely good to know.” She declared. If she could do that with everyone, she would be in good shape.
Durwood laughed at her. “ You are strange, Blaise. You do not show any prejudice to us. Why?” It was his turn to ask a burning question.
Blaise started to pick at her food again. “ I can’t considering my blood. Besides that, I work with people of various races. Mostly humans, a few werewolves who had nowhere else to turn, and even once, a vampire. All he needed was a direction for his soul to follow, and he found that direction in me. He is now leading a life of a teacher in a human city, and he enjoys his work.” She shared proudly.
Durwood could see that she took great pleasure. “ You enjoy helping people.” He said simply.
She beamed. “ I do not know why I would exist if I didn’t help people. I see too much pain, too much from my past, too much in the present to ignore the ability I have. I want to fight it all, but my ability can only stretch so far. Once it is started, it is passed on through people’s kind hearts. Everyone has good in them, even my father before it was beat from him by his father.” She insisted stubbornly, truly believing her words.
Durwood could not help but be impressed. “ I am greatly disappointed you are leaving when you heal. Your company would greatly please me.”
His compliment made her glow. “ Thank you, Durwood, but I am certain mother will come see me. When she does, you are welcome to join her.” She offered him.
He grinned. “ I will. Be sure of it.”
She turned her attention to the paintings of the familiar people from her dreams. “ What are their stories?” She asked another burning question.
Over the next few days, Blaise healed quickly. Whatever was used on her wound was working. Durwood was her constant companion, but her great grandmother visited her twice and her mother spent every moment possible with her before she left again. Vantrice avoided her and treated her with the same, if not more, contempt the colony treated her with. All in all, she thought everyone who was near her was pleasant and very supportive. When she finally healed, she gave Durwood the challenge he desired.
They faced off in the courtyard of the colony with a collection of vampires, including the Mother herself. Inari watched with Rosilda and the four warriors.
“ You promised to use human speed.” Blaise reminded him.
He nodded. “ I did.” He attacked her, and she blocked him before she could think. He backed away in admiration. “ Good, good. Good reflexes.” He attacked again, this time a string of strikes. She parried them before attempting a strike of her, which he flicked aside without trouble. Instead of stopping, she continued. He blocked each one, but she didn’t stop. Finally when her arms couldn’t lift without a great pain, she admitted defeat. “ Alright, Durwood. You’re superior. Go ahead. Crow like you want to.” She allowed him, hoping he would not.
He clapped her shoulder. “ You are better than you give yourself credit for. Keep training and maybe you’ll be my equal.” He said cockily.
She sheathed her scimitars. “ I will and when I best you, you owe me the respect of a vampire warrior.” She shot back competitively.
Her mother stepped in before Durwood could respond. “ Excellent, child. Excellent sword work. Come bathe and then I will set you off as far as the road.” There was sadness in her eyes, and Blaise yearned to remain where she was, but she had a home to return to and an apprentice who needed her. She could always return at a later time.
Bathing slowly in her room, she tried not to feel like she was leaving one of the most comfortable places in her life. She had a mother, a great grand mother, and a friend in Durwood. Vantrice would eventually accept her, and when she did, she would forgive Vantrice of her words. She already did. Dressing slowly, she could feel herself drag the seconds by in an act of stalling. She didn’t want to leave. Forcing herself to leave it behind because they would visit her, she gave her great grandmother a tearful kiss and hug before leaving with her mother, Veda, and Durwood.
“ Don’t worry, Rosilda. I’ll visit you as soon as I can to see how well you’ve done for yourself.” Her mother promised her as she cried tears of separation. Her mother brushed them away. “ Just remember if you need somewhere to go, my arms are always open to you.”
Durwood held out his hand. “ It was a pleasure, Blaise. I hope I will see you soon.” She shook his hand, pulling him into a hug. “ I’ll miss the company too.” He voiced her unspoken loneliness. “ Take care or I’ll make you.” She choked out a laugh as more tears threatened to spill.
Veda started to guide her away. With each step they took, Blaise could feel a tear roll down her cheeks. Would she see them again? Would she ever be so happy as she was the past few days?
Veda read her thoughts. “ I promise you that you will. Now hold yourself together. It will be easier for us all.” When Blaise turned around, Durwood was holding Inari as Inari cried the same tears of separation. She picked up the pace before she could torture herself any more.
Days of traveling erased the tears Blaise cried at first for her separation, but it didn’t ease the loneliness. Durwood, in the short few days she had come to know him, was one of her better friends. Her mother and great grand mother had become a constant she liked having present. “ You’ll be better soon. It hurts at first, but then time eases it to nothing.” Veda tried to tell her.
Blaise deflected the well meant help. “ I know, Veda, but it doesn’t help that I’m going back to an almost empty life. Without my customers and Javon, I have no one. At the end of the day, I’m still alone. I wake up alone, and in the end, I’m alone. At least at the colony, Durwood didn’t let me dwell on it, and mother and grandmother were a comforting shoulder when I needed company. How can I tell a boy of fourteen my heart when he is still learning what his is?”
Veda clapped her on the shoulder. “ Blaise, there are places in life where we learn what our strength is. You are learning what it is to be alone and strong. When you finally have someone, you’ll realize just how much sweeter it really is.” Blaise took her words to heart. “ Now, I’m leaving you off in Seda City. There you can continue on home.”
Blaise nodded. “ Veda, thank you so much for that few days. Thank you for protecting me, and thank you for giving me something I won’t ever forget.” She could see Veda was about to cry. “ I just can’t express how much it means to me, but I’m trying.”
Veda crushed her in a hug. “ It’s a relief to know that you turned out better than I thought you would. And you’re welcome. I didn’t know you could be so happy.” Veda patted her on the back. “ Now let’s continue. We both have lives to resume.” They pulled apart to keep traveling.
In the depths of Blaise’s heart, she was alive and well. Maybe it was the love of her family and new friends. Maybe it was the fact that she knew that her mother wasn’t a monster. Whatever it was, she was alive and well. She never felt so well before in her life.
Days later, they re-entered Vimouf. Veda went her separate way as Blaise set off on her through Seda City. She stopped to replenish her healing products. Setting off on Dulagg Road, she wasn’t worried. She loved the fact she was living and breathing. Forget about her past for that moment. She was living off the love she experienced at Ice Fire Colony.
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