Post by Lady Hammer on Oct 1, 2007 18:25:19 GMT -5
8: Rapture
Things were dark where I wound up, next. I couldn’t explain it, really, but it was the kind of unfathomable black sea that surrounded you when you were stuck between sleep and consciousness, a beautiful void. I wondered if I was dead, aside from many other things. What was happening to me? Where was I? I tried to make predictions, but they fell short. I just couldn’t wonder about Aleth, Gabriella, or anyone… I was too worried about myself. Needless to say, I wasn’t used to seeing absolutely nothing in my states of unconsciousness.
But that’s what it was. Absolutely nothing. No scenes, no people, no settings… I was alone. I didn’t want death to be like this…
“Hello?”
I then appeared in Talora’s home, lying in her bed, a wet towel on my forehead. The woman had set her rocking chair beside me, and was just sitting there, watching, with a tiny smile on her face.
“Hi Tizzy. Welcome back!” She put her hand on my arm. “The run in with Lilu is really taking its toll on you, though you could probably tell.”
“I need to wake up, Tal! You don’t understand! I need to be well! Lilu is up to something and it isn’t going to be good for Aleth and I!”
“Of course she’s up to something,” Talora said. “But your body needs to rest. You told yourself that you wouldn’t indulge in the advantages of being a nightwalker, thus I need more time to heal you.”
“Heal me? I shouldn’t be hurt here. I’m hurt physically!”
“Wrong, Tizzy! Do you know anything about what Lilu is?” she asked me. Of course I didn’t, but I did know that she was a freakish outcast.
“Some sort of daemon?”
“Precisely. A lilitu. They’re one of the more rare specimens from the realms down under, and their poison is fatal to any normal man, but it has been known to commonly kill just about anything it comes in contact with. However, the toxin isn’t poisonous to the body so much. It starts by demolishing one’s subconscious.” Then, the worst thing happened. I started laughing. Hard. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing! My side started to ache, I was laughing so much, and Talora just sat there, biting her lip.
“So why the hell am I here? My subconscious was in shit condition to begin with! No ‘seductress’, ‘killer of man’, is going to trash me anymore than I already am!” Then, Talora sighed. I have to admit, I was surprised. It was a sign of agitation and exhaustion that she, the most patient person in the world, almost never showed. Had I annoyed her that much?
“Tizzy… bad things are going to happen to you.” I eased my laughter and sniffled, ready to give seriousness a second try. “Especially since you don’t know anything about being a nightwalker!”
“So tell me! If it’s that important, if all of these horrible things are going to happen, what’s the harm in giving me some pointers?” Her trembling hands went straight for a cup of tea sitting on her table, and she drank, almost like it was liquor or something. I never thought tea could be addictive until I met her.
“It’s a bad idea, but I know you’re only going to keep insisting,” she said, clearing her throat. She was smart! “I’ll start from the beginning. From the Father of Nightwalkers. He was one of the original three who began passing down vampiric traits.”
“Three of them suckers, huh?”
“May I finish my story?” I smiled.
“Sorry.” She cleared her throat again, louder, and took a sip of her tea.
“The Father is a feline, not much bigger than a domesticated cat, and his signature in victims is rapid progression of strength, and deformities later down the road. When someone died, he would leap over their bodies, and they would become nightwalkers. Those of his line would turn others by drinking a victim’s blood, and giving it back to them once it had been laced with a vampire’s.
“Joined by the father was a Mother, who stole children and turned them while they were young, so they would grow and age like a normal person, being a nightwalker as early on as she could get them. Unlike the father, though, the Mother’s victims weren’t immortal—”
“Wait… I’m immortal?”
“Did I forget to mention that part?” Talora asked, a childish smile spreading from cheek to cheek. I… I couldn’t be immortal. That would mean I would have nothing to be afraid of except the fact that I was still alive. I really was the perfect enemy.
“Yeah, you did.”
“Don’t let it get to your head, like I know it will. You can die just as easy as you can live. That’s what happened to the third original nightwalker, Baron le Signoret. He was pompous and did horrible things to himself and others just to spite his seemingly unkillable nature. Ironically, he was the first one killed in Sandroya’s Dark Sweep Act.” I tapped my chin, thinking about the predicament. After all, Talora had just told me that I was invulnerable to aging. That meant, assuming I survived Sandroya’s attack, I would outlive all of my siblings. Aleth and I would stand over their graves for years to come…
“Wait, you said something else about a deformity?” Talora laughed a little, taking the damp towel from my head. Did I sound like I was taking humor in this?
“Now you realize I said that?” I sat up, wincing a little at the pain pounding in the back of my skull.
“Sorry, but this is a lot to take in. I don’t want to be a bloodsucker, Tal. I’d rather not be a filthy, disgusting creature who lives in disgrace forever.”
“You’ll deal with it, I know you will.” I thought I should smile, but I couldn’t. What she said could’ve been as insult just as easily as it could’ve been a compliment. “And your deformation. There are few who the Father has turned himself, so it’s hard to say what you’ll turn into. Word on the street is that there’s a woman somewhere that he turned who grew horns and a tail.” At once, I cringed. I did not like the thought of having a tail and horns. Quite unappealing.
“How can I die? In case I lose my sanity and need to commit suicide?” She kept giggling, and I don’t think she got the picture that I was serious. How the hell was I supposed to tolerate life for another billion years, anyway?
“You’ll have nothing to worry about until you start taking advantage of what you are. When you start feeding from blood, you’ll gain many disadvantages that will kill you quite easily. Though, when the sun goes down… you’ll be invincible.” It was odd, trying to take all of that in. What if everything was just a product of my imagination? “So for now, because of this vow you’re so adamant in fulfilling, you’re fine. Just like anyone else, except a bit more resilient. And a nightwalker.”
What if none of this was real? What if I really was dying? Hell, what if I was still in the same coma I was in twelve years ago? And Talora and everything she was saying just happened to be some elaborate story to keep my mind preoccupied as I was slowly slipping away from Aleth and Gabriella? Suddenly, I noticed the woman’s eyes staring at me expectantly.
“Her toxin really has done a number on you. Come on, it’s time to take one last precaution.” Everything around me at once disappeared, and I was back in the black void from which I came. It was so peaceful, and I hadn’t realized it the first time. If I quieted my thoughts, I could actually hear a faint, ebbing tide, and everything was so warm, like I was in an embrace. Talora then appeared before me, her hands neatly folded at her waist. With a simple nod of her head, a giant bubble of water grew merely a foot away from me. But that phenomenon itself wasn’t the remarkable part – there was a girl inside.
She was young, no older than thirteen, and was holding herself as tightly as she could, but otherwise, completely unconscious and unclothed. What kind of strange things were buried inside of my head? It was so bizarre, because aside from her slender female body, I could tell absolutely nothing else about her. My eyes just wouldn’t see, kind of like when you read over words, but couldn’t focus on what they meant, or if you stared at a picture and kept zoning out. Everything about her – the shape of her face, color of her hair, shade of her skin, size of her facial features – was hidden from me.
“Who is this?” Talora came over to my side.
“This is who would’ve taken your place, had you died those twelve years ago. You would’ve stayed in that coma until she was old enough to function in your body. However, given the circumstances that showed themselves, everything was fine, and you returned to the Physical Realms as yourself. Had you died, however…
“But, the point is that, knowing what you had become, it was decided that we keep the other girl growing and ready, just in case. But I don’t want it to be a secret to you anymore, Tizzy. Everything you do will shape her growth. She is the replacement you.” I gazed at the girl, and though I should have been offended by her existence, I suddenly found myself impressed. She would have a lot of turmoil to trudge through if she was ever actually born. But… did this happen to everyone? I wondered if everyone had a “second personality” waiting for them. “You would do good to give her a name, Tizzy. After all, not even you are known by your own down here.”
Nothing was coming to my mind. I looked over her and her seemingly endless serenity, and could think of nothing. I turned to Talora, hoping my distress was plastered all over my face; I didn’t actually want to admit how uncreative I was. She merely laughed.
“It’s okay. A name chosen with time will be the best.”
Everything was quiet and gray, lonely… there were no voices, no faces, nothing to greet me. I actually welcomed the sensation. It was relaxing, like a faint snowfall in the dead of night.
Dead of night. It was those words, floating around in my head, that spun me into consciousness. Dammit.
My senses reawakened one by one – the sound of a turning page; the scent of a musty room; the taste of copper still on my tongue; the feeling of a rough blanket over my body. Slowly, I opened my eyes, and saw Aleth sitting at the bedside, reading some odd, stained book. It was so strange that the man who was beginning to be my “knight in shining armor” was just my brother, but I’d rather it be him than some air-headed pretty boy any day. It took him a few moments, but at last, he sensed that I was out of my stupor, and the biggest smile lit up on his face. No, I wouldn’t trade him for the world.
“Tizzy! You’re… my god, you’re okay!” He nearly smothered me in affection, burying my head into his chest and trying to keep me as close as possible.
“Of course,” I said, a crack in my voice. How long had I been unconscious? My sight was no longer tinted in magenta, so I guessed that however long it had been, it was long enough for the poison to run through me and effectively accomplish nothing. I noticed I was dressed in clean clothing, spares that I had packed, as well as a faint tingling that was coursing through my limbs.
“What’s been happening?” He let me go from his vicegrip of a hug and sniffled.
“Gabriella and I have been taking turns watching you, so we could get some sleep. You’ve been out for eight hours. She cleaned you up and everything, and you’ve just been lying there, ever since you passed out. We thought you were going to die.”
“Me too!” Goddess, did I ever. “You wouldn’t believe the things I was seeing while I was unconscious. I learned so much.” He gave me a puzzled stare, and I knew that that was the moment I needed to tell him. I needed to tell him that I knew the things he was trying to keep from me. But, I just couldn’t bring myself to say them. It would be like admitting that I had caused all of the horrible things in his life, and I didn’t know if I could accept that.
“When Gabriella first looked after you, for the first five hours, I was lying in one of the beds in your room, and I couldn’t sleep for the life of me. All I could do was stare at the ceiling in the dark, hoping and wishing for a way to get you back.” I grinned and squeezed his arm.
“Aleth, you don’t give me enough credit! Did you honestly think a mere toxin could wipe me out?” He returned the show of affection and rubbed my back. “I’m a little bit tougher than that!”
“But Tizzy, I’m still… ashamed.” I tilted my head at this, thinking “what the hell?” What did he have to be ashamed of? He leaned his head back, looking up into dirty ceiling above us, and sighed. “I’m ashamed of what I’ve put you through. It’s not fair to you.” What was wrong with him? Had he forgotten what I did to him all those years ago?
“No, Aleth, you have no reason to be ashamed. You’ve catered to me every step of the way. I should be ashamed. I realized what I did to you. Everything going on now, everything going on then, and anything that ever will happen is my fault. I was the one who turned you, wasn’t I?” I could tell that he had been hoping I wouldn’t find out. Maybe he thought that if I never knew, he could pretend like it never happened. I didn’t know, but the look on his face was unchanging. Perhaps I should’ve kept my mouth shut.
“I can’t argue there,” he said, still trying to keep a smile on his face. “Everything could easily be blamed on you. But I don’t believe in that. I believe that everything that happens to me is because of the choices I make. I chose to be around you when… the incident happened. So I don’t feel so bad. I’m the one that took you away from your home. I’m the one that got you caught up in this mess. I’m the one who gave you a taste of blood…”
“You’re the reason I’m still alive. You’re the reason why I haven’t gone on a massacre and sucked the blood from every last one of our siblings.” He laughed. “I’d rather be evolving and discovering these things with you than be stuck at home with no clue what’s going on.” That seemed to comfort him, and as long as he was eased, I was too. “Besides… maybe we can blame it on Lazarus. He knocked me into the coma in the first place.”
We were still, sucking up the silence after that. It was nice, because with all of my constant inner squabbling and turmoil, I could never really enjoy the peace of quietness. That, and I learned what it was like to appreciate someone. To truly appreciate someone.
I was alive. And I would be staying alive to show some people what I was made of.
“Aleth, do you feed?” My brother didn’t look me in the eyes, but twiddled his fingers around. He didn’t need to say anything, because I could already tell what his answer was. But, under no circumstances would I be disappointed in him. No.
“I try not to. Honestly, I try not to. But it’s the cravings and the anger that get the best of me…” Why was that? Was our family temper to blame? Or this “Father of Nightwalkers”? I couldn’t hate on him, could I? I mean… if he hadn’t have turned me, I really would be dead.
“Nobody’s perfect,” I said.
The sun rose just a few hours after my initial wake, and we figured there would be no more wasting of time. Gabriella worked her magic and showed me that cold water could easily remove the bloodstains from my white shirt, and you could only imagine how eternally grateful I was. We stocked up on salt pork, crackers, and seeds, hoping that would provide enough nourishment for our trip, and bought new waterskins. The way to and through Massingberd Forest would be an unforgiving hell, especially since we had to go through Ardok Pass. Most of the time, people said it was okay. Actually running into an ardok was highly unlikely. But it only took one look at me to tell that I frequently ran into the unlikely.
The redhead showed us to a second river, with us hauling her ferry around, of course, and fortunately, the ride down that one looked much safer than the one down Sheerspine. And it was. The day was proving to be comfortable and productive, as long as I ignored the unusually obnoxious sun. Aleth told me to cover up well since I had taken blood. It would be slightly caustic to my skin, and would get moreso as I continued feeding. Wonderful. Talora was right – I was already enjoying the disadvantages with only one taste! And that wretched woman was in the back of my mind the entire time we traveled.
Her, and Lilu. I would kill her. I could feel the satisfaction already.
But, as we trekked through Massingberd Forest, one too many things must’ve been on my mind, because one of the worst headaches I had ever experienced came to me. Why did those things always happen to me? It was hardly fair, and I thought that maybe I was due for a consolation prize of some sort for being able to put up with all of the crap I’ve been through, and manage to avoid hating Lazarus. After all, he was the perfect person to take my anger out on and blame my hardships on.
But that would just be too easy. Argh, but I was always taking the harder route! I was always making things more difficult than they really were! I knew this, and yet I couldn’t keep from doing it. God, didn’t I deserve to just take it easy for once?
‘Yes, I believe you do.’
My steps faltered. That was Talora’s voice.
“Tizzy?”
“Fine Aleth, I’m fine. Headache.” Was the woman wheedling her way into my conscious mind, now? Perfect. My obnoxious inner voice running its mouth in my head was plenty hassling as it was, so I really didn’t need another one. Talora’s voice got irritating even in small amounts.
‘What do you think you’re doing, talking to me while I’m awake?’ It was so strange, talking to my own mind. They had places for silly people like me. I was crazy, I so was. Someone really needed to do something about me.
‘Someone’s got to start talking some sense into you.’ Great. Now my thoughts were on broadcast to every strange being that roamed in my “Mental Planes”. So much for privacy. I wasn’t going to have a very fun journey to Davrkton, at that rate.
‘Don’t make a habit of it. I’m just fine on my own, thanks.’ And she listened. There was hardly a thought, after that. At all. My mind was almost desolate. Was that bad?
I looked up at the sky, knowing that the Ardok Pass was painfully near. “Painfully” in no way being metaphoric, either; my heart was beating unusually fast, and there was a tightness in my chest that hurt. Those couldn’t have been good signs. Tiny scraps of sunlight peered through the trees, and I knew that those scraps would be the last ones that I saw until I came out of Ardok Pass. It was characterized by trails between a covering of trees so dense, it completely blocked out any light. Wonderful. We came to its edge when Gabriella then spoke.
“It looks like this is where I head back home. I’m sure family and friends are already worried sick about me. You guys, too.” No one was worried about Aleth and I. There was no way, and the ridiculous thought of Allanis or Athen fretting about my whereabouts almost made me laugh. Still, I was depressed to see my companion leave.
“Thank you for all your help, Gabriella. We wouldn’t have made it this far without you,” Aleth told her, gingerly shaking the redhead’s hand. I moved in to do the same.
“Yeah, thanks. It’s been nice to have another companion, if only for a little while.” Apparently, my handshake didn’t cut it, because she threw herself onto me, giving me a hug. I really didn’t want her to go… I hardly knew her, yet she felt like a best friend. My first.
“Please, promise me you’ll keep in touch, or at least send a bird every now and then, so I know you’re okay? And if you need it, I’ll do everything I can to help!” I smiled and nodded, when suddenly, there was a breeze, one much too cold to be natural. Her grin and Aleth’s fell at once.
Something wasn’t right. I turned to look into the Ardok Pass and knew at once what we’d confront. I began to fear for my life all over again.
Things were dark where I wound up, next. I couldn’t explain it, really, but it was the kind of unfathomable black sea that surrounded you when you were stuck between sleep and consciousness, a beautiful void. I wondered if I was dead, aside from many other things. What was happening to me? Where was I? I tried to make predictions, but they fell short. I just couldn’t wonder about Aleth, Gabriella, or anyone… I was too worried about myself. Needless to say, I wasn’t used to seeing absolutely nothing in my states of unconsciousness.
But that’s what it was. Absolutely nothing. No scenes, no people, no settings… I was alone. I didn’t want death to be like this…
“Hello?”
I then appeared in Talora’s home, lying in her bed, a wet towel on my forehead. The woman had set her rocking chair beside me, and was just sitting there, watching, with a tiny smile on her face.
“Hi Tizzy. Welcome back!” She put her hand on my arm. “The run in with Lilu is really taking its toll on you, though you could probably tell.”
“I need to wake up, Tal! You don’t understand! I need to be well! Lilu is up to something and it isn’t going to be good for Aleth and I!”
“Of course she’s up to something,” Talora said. “But your body needs to rest. You told yourself that you wouldn’t indulge in the advantages of being a nightwalker, thus I need more time to heal you.”
“Heal me? I shouldn’t be hurt here. I’m hurt physically!”
“Wrong, Tizzy! Do you know anything about what Lilu is?” she asked me. Of course I didn’t, but I did know that she was a freakish outcast.
“Some sort of daemon?”
“Precisely. A lilitu. They’re one of the more rare specimens from the realms down under, and their poison is fatal to any normal man, but it has been known to commonly kill just about anything it comes in contact with. However, the toxin isn’t poisonous to the body so much. It starts by demolishing one’s subconscious.” Then, the worst thing happened. I started laughing. Hard. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing! My side started to ache, I was laughing so much, and Talora just sat there, biting her lip.
“So why the hell am I here? My subconscious was in shit condition to begin with! No ‘seductress’, ‘killer of man’, is going to trash me anymore than I already am!” Then, Talora sighed. I have to admit, I was surprised. It was a sign of agitation and exhaustion that she, the most patient person in the world, almost never showed. Had I annoyed her that much?
“Tizzy… bad things are going to happen to you.” I eased my laughter and sniffled, ready to give seriousness a second try. “Especially since you don’t know anything about being a nightwalker!”
“So tell me! If it’s that important, if all of these horrible things are going to happen, what’s the harm in giving me some pointers?” Her trembling hands went straight for a cup of tea sitting on her table, and she drank, almost like it was liquor or something. I never thought tea could be addictive until I met her.
“It’s a bad idea, but I know you’re only going to keep insisting,” she said, clearing her throat. She was smart! “I’ll start from the beginning. From the Father of Nightwalkers. He was one of the original three who began passing down vampiric traits.”
“Three of them suckers, huh?”
“May I finish my story?” I smiled.
“Sorry.” She cleared her throat again, louder, and took a sip of her tea.
“The Father is a feline, not much bigger than a domesticated cat, and his signature in victims is rapid progression of strength, and deformities later down the road. When someone died, he would leap over their bodies, and they would become nightwalkers. Those of his line would turn others by drinking a victim’s blood, and giving it back to them once it had been laced with a vampire’s.
“Joined by the father was a Mother, who stole children and turned them while they were young, so they would grow and age like a normal person, being a nightwalker as early on as she could get them. Unlike the father, though, the Mother’s victims weren’t immortal—”
“Wait… I’m immortal?”
“Did I forget to mention that part?” Talora asked, a childish smile spreading from cheek to cheek. I… I couldn’t be immortal. That would mean I would have nothing to be afraid of except the fact that I was still alive. I really was the perfect enemy.
“Yeah, you did.”
“Don’t let it get to your head, like I know it will. You can die just as easy as you can live. That’s what happened to the third original nightwalker, Baron le Signoret. He was pompous and did horrible things to himself and others just to spite his seemingly unkillable nature. Ironically, he was the first one killed in Sandroya’s Dark Sweep Act.” I tapped my chin, thinking about the predicament. After all, Talora had just told me that I was invulnerable to aging. That meant, assuming I survived Sandroya’s attack, I would outlive all of my siblings. Aleth and I would stand over their graves for years to come…
“Wait, you said something else about a deformity?” Talora laughed a little, taking the damp towel from my head. Did I sound like I was taking humor in this?
“Now you realize I said that?” I sat up, wincing a little at the pain pounding in the back of my skull.
“Sorry, but this is a lot to take in. I don’t want to be a bloodsucker, Tal. I’d rather not be a filthy, disgusting creature who lives in disgrace forever.”
“You’ll deal with it, I know you will.” I thought I should smile, but I couldn’t. What she said could’ve been as insult just as easily as it could’ve been a compliment. “And your deformation. There are few who the Father has turned himself, so it’s hard to say what you’ll turn into. Word on the street is that there’s a woman somewhere that he turned who grew horns and a tail.” At once, I cringed. I did not like the thought of having a tail and horns. Quite unappealing.
“How can I die? In case I lose my sanity and need to commit suicide?” She kept giggling, and I don’t think she got the picture that I was serious. How the hell was I supposed to tolerate life for another billion years, anyway?
“You’ll have nothing to worry about until you start taking advantage of what you are. When you start feeding from blood, you’ll gain many disadvantages that will kill you quite easily. Though, when the sun goes down… you’ll be invincible.” It was odd, trying to take all of that in. What if everything was just a product of my imagination? “So for now, because of this vow you’re so adamant in fulfilling, you’re fine. Just like anyone else, except a bit more resilient. And a nightwalker.”
What if none of this was real? What if I really was dying? Hell, what if I was still in the same coma I was in twelve years ago? And Talora and everything she was saying just happened to be some elaborate story to keep my mind preoccupied as I was slowly slipping away from Aleth and Gabriella? Suddenly, I noticed the woman’s eyes staring at me expectantly.
“Her toxin really has done a number on you. Come on, it’s time to take one last precaution.” Everything around me at once disappeared, and I was back in the black void from which I came. It was so peaceful, and I hadn’t realized it the first time. If I quieted my thoughts, I could actually hear a faint, ebbing tide, and everything was so warm, like I was in an embrace. Talora then appeared before me, her hands neatly folded at her waist. With a simple nod of her head, a giant bubble of water grew merely a foot away from me. But that phenomenon itself wasn’t the remarkable part – there was a girl inside.
She was young, no older than thirteen, and was holding herself as tightly as she could, but otherwise, completely unconscious and unclothed. What kind of strange things were buried inside of my head? It was so bizarre, because aside from her slender female body, I could tell absolutely nothing else about her. My eyes just wouldn’t see, kind of like when you read over words, but couldn’t focus on what they meant, or if you stared at a picture and kept zoning out. Everything about her – the shape of her face, color of her hair, shade of her skin, size of her facial features – was hidden from me.
“Who is this?” Talora came over to my side.
“This is who would’ve taken your place, had you died those twelve years ago. You would’ve stayed in that coma until she was old enough to function in your body. However, given the circumstances that showed themselves, everything was fine, and you returned to the Physical Realms as yourself. Had you died, however…
“But, the point is that, knowing what you had become, it was decided that we keep the other girl growing and ready, just in case. But I don’t want it to be a secret to you anymore, Tizzy. Everything you do will shape her growth. She is the replacement you.” I gazed at the girl, and though I should have been offended by her existence, I suddenly found myself impressed. She would have a lot of turmoil to trudge through if she was ever actually born. But… did this happen to everyone? I wondered if everyone had a “second personality” waiting for them. “You would do good to give her a name, Tizzy. After all, not even you are known by your own down here.”
Nothing was coming to my mind. I looked over her and her seemingly endless serenity, and could think of nothing. I turned to Talora, hoping my distress was plastered all over my face; I didn’t actually want to admit how uncreative I was. She merely laughed.
“It’s okay. A name chosen with time will be the best.”
Everything was quiet and gray, lonely… there were no voices, no faces, nothing to greet me. I actually welcomed the sensation. It was relaxing, like a faint snowfall in the dead of night.
Dead of night. It was those words, floating around in my head, that spun me into consciousness. Dammit.
My senses reawakened one by one – the sound of a turning page; the scent of a musty room; the taste of copper still on my tongue; the feeling of a rough blanket over my body. Slowly, I opened my eyes, and saw Aleth sitting at the bedside, reading some odd, stained book. It was so strange that the man who was beginning to be my “knight in shining armor” was just my brother, but I’d rather it be him than some air-headed pretty boy any day. It took him a few moments, but at last, he sensed that I was out of my stupor, and the biggest smile lit up on his face. No, I wouldn’t trade him for the world.
“Tizzy! You’re… my god, you’re okay!” He nearly smothered me in affection, burying my head into his chest and trying to keep me as close as possible.
“Of course,” I said, a crack in my voice. How long had I been unconscious? My sight was no longer tinted in magenta, so I guessed that however long it had been, it was long enough for the poison to run through me and effectively accomplish nothing. I noticed I was dressed in clean clothing, spares that I had packed, as well as a faint tingling that was coursing through my limbs.
“What’s been happening?” He let me go from his vicegrip of a hug and sniffled.
“Gabriella and I have been taking turns watching you, so we could get some sleep. You’ve been out for eight hours. She cleaned you up and everything, and you’ve just been lying there, ever since you passed out. We thought you were going to die.”
“Me too!” Goddess, did I ever. “You wouldn’t believe the things I was seeing while I was unconscious. I learned so much.” He gave me a puzzled stare, and I knew that that was the moment I needed to tell him. I needed to tell him that I knew the things he was trying to keep from me. But, I just couldn’t bring myself to say them. It would be like admitting that I had caused all of the horrible things in his life, and I didn’t know if I could accept that.
“When Gabriella first looked after you, for the first five hours, I was lying in one of the beds in your room, and I couldn’t sleep for the life of me. All I could do was stare at the ceiling in the dark, hoping and wishing for a way to get you back.” I grinned and squeezed his arm.
“Aleth, you don’t give me enough credit! Did you honestly think a mere toxin could wipe me out?” He returned the show of affection and rubbed my back. “I’m a little bit tougher than that!”
“But Tizzy, I’m still… ashamed.” I tilted my head at this, thinking “what the hell?” What did he have to be ashamed of? He leaned his head back, looking up into dirty ceiling above us, and sighed. “I’m ashamed of what I’ve put you through. It’s not fair to you.” What was wrong with him? Had he forgotten what I did to him all those years ago?
“No, Aleth, you have no reason to be ashamed. You’ve catered to me every step of the way. I should be ashamed. I realized what I did to you. Everything going on now, everything going on then, and anything that ever will happen is my fault. I was the one who turned you, wasn’t I?” I could tell that he had been hoping I wouldn’t find out. Maybe he thought that if I never knew, he could pretend like it never happened. I didn’t know, but the look on his face was unchanging. Perhaps I should’ve kept my mouth shut.
“I can’t argue there,” he said, still trying to keep a smile on his face. “Everything could easily be blamed on you. But I don’t believe in that. I believe that everything that happens to me is because of the choices I make. I chose to be around you when… the incident happened. So I don’t feel so bad. I’m the one that took you away from your home. I’m the one that got you caught up in this mess. I’m the one who gave you a taste of blood…”
“You’re the reason I’m still alive. You’re the reason why I haven’t gone on a massacre and sucked the blood from every last one of our siblings.” He laughed. “I’d rather be evolving and discovering these things with you than be stuck at home with no clue what’s going on.” That seemed to comfort him, and as long as he was eased, I was too. “Besides… maybe we can blame it on Lazarus. He knocked me into the coma in the first place.”
We were still, sucking up the silence after that. It was nice, because with all of my constant inner squabbling and turmoil, I could never really enjoy the peace of quietness. That, and I learned what it was like to appreciate someone. To truly appreciate someone.
I was alive. And I would be staying alive to show some people what I was made of.
“Aleth, do you feed?” My brother didn’t look me in the eyes, but twiddled his fingers around. He didn’t need to say anything, because I could already tell what his answer was. But, under no circumstances would I be disappointed in him. No.
“I try not to. Honestly, I try not to. But it’s the cravings and the anger that get the best of me…” Why was that? Was our family temper to blame? Or this “Father of Nightwalkers”? I couldn’t hate on him, could I? I mean… if he hadn’t have turned me, I really would be dead.
“Nobody’s perfect,” I said.
The sun rose just a few hours after my initial wake, and we figured there would be no more wasting of time. Gabriella worked her magic and showed me that cold water could easily remove the bloodstains from my white shirt, and you could only imagine how eternally grateful I was. We stocked up on salt pork, crackers, and seeds, hoping that would provide enough nourishment for our trip, and bought new waterskins. The way to and through Massingberd Forest would be an unforgiving hell, especially since we had to go through Ardok Pass. Most of the time, people said it was okay. Actually running into an ardok was highly unlikely. But it only took one look at me to tell that I frequently ran into the unlikely.
The redhead showed us to a second river, with us hauling her ferry around, of course, and fortunately, the ride down that one looked much safer than the one down Sheerspine. And it was. The day was proving to be comfortable and productive, as long as I ignored the unusually obnoxious sun. Aleth told me to cover up well since I had taken blood. It would be slightly caustic to my skin, and would get moreso as I continued feeding. Wonderful. Talora was right – I was already enjoying the disadvantages with only one taste! And that wretched woman was in the back of my mind the entire time we traveled.
Her, and Lilu. I would kill her. I could feel the satisfaction already.
But, as we trekked through Massingberd Forest, one too many things must’ve been on my mind, because one of the worst headaches I had ever experienced came to me. Why did those things always happen to me? It was hardly fair, and I thought that maybe I was due for a consolation prize of some sort for being able to put up with all of the crap I’ve been through, and manage to avoid hating Lazarus. After all, he was the perfect person to take my anger out on and blame my hardships on.
But that would just be too easy. Argh, but I was always taking the harder route! I was always making things more difficult than they really were! I knew this, and yet I couldn’t keep from doing it. God, didn’t I deserve to just take it easy for once?
‘Yes, I believe you do.’
My steps faltered. That was Talora’s voice.
“Tizzy?”
“Fine Aleth, I’m fine. Headache.” Was the woman wheedling her way into my conscious mind, now? Perfect. My obnoxious inner voice running its mouth in my head was plenty hassling as it was, so I really didn’t need another one. Talora’s voice got irritating even in small amounts.
‘What do you think you’re doing, talking to me while I’m awake?’ It was so strange, talking to my own mind. They had places for silly people like me. I was crazy, I so was. Someone really needed to do something about me.
‘Someone’s got to start talking some sense into you.’ Great. Now my thoughts were on broadcast to every strange being that roamed in my “Mental Planes”. So much for privacy. I wasn’t going to have a very fun journey to Davrkton, at that rate.
‘Don’t make a habit of it. I’m just fine on my own, thanks.’ And she listened. There was hardly a thought, after that. At all. My mind was almost desolate. Was that bad?
I looked up at the sky, knowing that the Ardok Pass was painfully near. “Painfully” in no way being metaphoric, either; my heart was beating unusually fast, and there was a tightness in my chest that hurt. Those couldn’t have been good signs. Tiny scraps of sunlight peered through the trees, and I knew that those scraps would be the last ones that I saw until I came out of Ardok Pass. It was characterized by trails between a covering of trees so dense, it completely blocked out any light. Wonderful. We came to its edge when Gabriella then spoke.
“It looks like this is where I head back home. I’m sure family and friends are already worried sick about me. You guys, too.” No one was worried about Aleth and I. There was no way, and the ridiculous thought of Allanis or Athen fretting about my whereabouts almost made me laugh. Still, I was depressed to see my companion leave.
“Thank you for all your help, Gabriella. We wouldn’t have made it this far without you,” Aleth told her, gingerly shaking the redhead’s hand. I moved in to do the same.
“Yeah, thanks. It’s been nice to have another companion, if only for a little while.” Apparently, my handshake didn’t cut it, because she threw herself onto me, giving me a hug. I really didn’t want her to go… I hardly knew her, yet she felt like a best friend. My first.
“Please, promise me you’ll keep in touch, or at least send a bird every now and then, so I know you’re okay? And if you need it, I’ll do everything I can to help!” I smiled and nodded, when suddenly, there was a breeze, one much too cold to be natural. Her grin and Aleth’s fell at once.
Something wasn’t right. I turned to look into the Ardok Pass and knew at once what we’d confront. I began to fear for my life all over again.
