A Taste of Crimson

by E. M. Knight

  And with that, he settles back down. “But I will not pass judgment on that.”

  “Bullshit,” I say. “You already have. You think Selene should be dead!”

  “Not anymore,” he says softly. “I do not take a vampire’s life lightly.”

  “Thirty minutes to destination,” Smithson’s voice comes over the intercom.

  I look back again at my fledgling. My fledgling. It feels so strange, thinking I am responsible for granting somebody eternal life.

  As I look at her, an odd sense of… guardianship… comes over me.

  I feel like Selene is now fully my responsibility.

  “You feel an affinity for her, don’t you?” Paolo wonders. “It is common when a vampire is made in the heat of passion.”

  I frown at him. The way he talks about it, it almost seems sexual.

  He meets my gaze, absolutely unperturbed.

  “I couldn’t stop myself, okay?” I force out. “When I tasted her blood, I saw her entire life. I saw her memories. The vampire inside took over. It would not let me simply destroy one with so much potential!”

  Paolo crooks his head. “What did you say?”

  “She has potential!” I exclaim. “I felt it, I—”

  “No,” he cuts in. “Not that part. You saw her memories?”

  “More than that,” I say. “I lived them. When I was feeding, it was like the blood lust, but different. It took over, the vampire inside had control, and then… I was her. I saw her life. From her very first memory, all the way up to the point she found herself in my grip. It wasn’t like her life flashed before my eyes. It was more than that. I lived her life, and at the moment her blood first fused with mine, it was as if I was her. There was no disconnect. There was no April. I was completely her.”

  Paolo leans forward, looking at me very intently. “It went that deep?”

  I nod.

  He sits back. His eyes become contemplative as he looks about the cabin.

  “Then,” he says after a good long while, “I must apologize. You were right to do what you did.”

  “I was?” I ask, then curse myself for being so eager to get his approval.

  He glosses over it and nods. “Yes. That is not a common occurrence in our world.”

  “It’s not?”

  “No.” He shakes his head. “You experienced a merging of the minds. When that happens, the urge to continue the bond, the connection, overpowers all else. Killing Selene, draining her dry, would have been like killing a piece of yourself. Now I understand why you did it.”

  “But you still don’t approve,” I mutter.

  He waves the issue aside. “Don’t worry about whether I approve or not. The important part is that you told me the truth. This changes how we must treat her.”

  I furrow my brows. “In what way?”

  “You and Selene share a bond many times stronger than that of a regular fledgling and her maker. The bond between you—it is like two sisters.”

  “Huh,” I say.

  “If she dies, you will feel her death acutely. If you die, before she’s had enough time in the blood, she will die with you.”

  “How do you know all this?”

  “Because,” he answers heavily. “I had the same link with Chandler.”

  “Oh, wow.” I breathe. “He made you?”

  Paolo nods. “Luckily, by the time James got the better of him I had become strong enough to survive the severing of that bond.”

  “How long did it take?”

  “A century and a half.”

  I sit back, dumbfounded. “I can’t imagine that length of time,” I whisper.

  “Better get used to it,” he says. “Selene truly is yours now.

  “Does this have… could it have anything to do with the Divine Sight?” I ask. “I mean, you said it kept both of us alive for a reason.”

  “Perhaps,” Paolo murmurs. “We can never truly know. Guesses of this sort are futile and they will drive you crazy. All you can be sure of, after having been touched by the Divine Sight, is that you have been marked by fate for a higher purpose. That should grant you peace.”

  “Even if I don’t know what that purpose is?”

  “You don’t have to know to fulfill it,” he answers sagely.

  “I see.” I sigh.

  ***

  Half an hour later the plane touches down on a long strip of cement. There is a warehouse nearby. The entire area is fenced off against intruders, even though we really are in the middle of nowhere.

  Smithson deplanes first into the night. I lead Selene out next, trailed by Paolo.

  Smithson looks to the fledgling. “Take the sack off. She should be allowed to see.”

  I nod, giving my consent.

  Paolo yanks the velvet sack off. Selene shakes her head to get the hair out of her face, then looks at me expectantly.

  “If you think we’re taking the silver cuffs off, you’re badly mistaken,” I tell her.

  “Not at all,” she says sweetly. “I just want to know where we’ve come.”

  “We are at a distant storage facility,” Smithson volunteers. “We have come to retrieve some objects of great value to us. You, Selene, are for the moment a hanger-on. You have to be properly initiated to truly become one of us. That process takes time. Do not think one bite is enough for us to trust you.”

  “I wouldn’t dream of it,” Selene answers smoothly. “Such magnificent creatures you are, surely you have rituals. I am simply grateful to April for sparing my life.”

  She looks at me, and I see genuine gratitude in her eyes.

  “Let’s go,” Smithson says. “James has been waiting for us for too long. Let’s get what we came to get and be done with it.

  He strides purposefully toward the warehouse.

  “Watch her,” I tell Paolo, then run to catch up.

  “What the hell were you talking about?” I hiss when I reach Smithson. “What initiation? We have no initiations!”

  Smithson glances at me sideways. “Maybe not anymore. We have forgotten our roots. Centuries ago, the making of any vampire was a celebrated thing. I think it’s time to restart that tradition.”

  “Why?” I ask.

  He stops cold and turns to me. His eyes are hard.

  “Why?” he repeats. “Why? Are you really so naive, April? Our world is based on the hierarchy. For vampires who will grow to be as strong as Selene will, at her full potential, we need to maintain some leverage—some structure that commands respect.”

  I narrow my eyes. “You believe she will grow to be stronger than any of us,” I say. “Don’t you?”

  “There’s no way to know. She certainly has the potential. I heard every word you said to Paolo on the plane.”

  “You eavesdropped on us?” I exhale incredulously.

  “Don’t you worry your pretty little head. You were speaking so loud I didn’t even have to strain to hear. My question is,” he takes a step closer, “were you planning to keep it from me the whole time?”

  “I wasn’t keeping anything from you,” I defend.

  “Oh, so then you just conveniently omitted the fact that your bond with her was so strong you saw her memories? That you lived her life?”

  “I’m not hiding anything from you,” I snarl, angry at the accusations. “If I were, I wouldn’t be talking to you now!”

  “Not like you have much of a choice,” he counters.

  “This is ridiculous,” I hiss. “We’re here to get the obsidian, and that’s it. Once we get back to base, James can decide what to do with Selene.”

  “I fear you’ve already decided for him, child,” he murmurs, turning and walking away.

  I glare at Smithson’s back, then again run to catch up. I grab him by the shoulder and spin him around.

  He narrows his eyes oh-so-slightly. “You might want to be more careful, laying your hands on me like that.”

  I ignore the warning. “Why don’t you tell me what’s really going on, Smithson?” I
demand. “You weren’t so concerned with what I did to Selene when you found us on the floor in the metal room.”

  He searches my eyes for a long moment. I feel like I’m being judged.

  Then, looking over my shoulder at Selene and Paolo, he grabs my arm and takes me aside.

  I’m pulled to the outer facade of the warehouse. Smithson covers his mouth and speaks.

  “This next part could be very dangerous,” he says. “If the Slender Man is in there, he will not go down without a fight. I have this—” he flashes the turtle torrial, “—but it only offers protection to me. If it were an option, I would tell you and Paolo and Selene to all wait. But I have a feeling—an instinct—that all three of us vampires will be required.” He grunts. “Maybe even the fledgling, at that.”

  “What are you talking about? What danger does the man pose?”

  “More than you know,” Smithson says cryptically. “He has been trying to bait me into a one-on-one confrontation for a long time. We could be walking into a trap.”

  “You don’t think three vampires and a fledgling can handle a simple human?” I ask.

  “This is not just a simple human, April. This man is the master of subterfuge. What I keep wondering is, why did he move the obsidian here? What does he want with it? Why?”

  He grunts and pushes off. “I don’t like the feeling of being hunted. Yet it is precisely what is happening now.”

  “So, send a decoy in first,” I suggest. “Get Selene in there. She can distract him while we overwhelm him from the back.”

  He sighs. “If only,” he says, “it were that simple.”

  “You think it’s not?”

  “Nothing is easy with a man who commands the shadows,” he answers. “Human or not is irrelevant.”

  I swallow.

  “We’re taking too much time,” Smithson says. “I want him to know we’re here. I do not want to catch him off-guard and risk a conflagration.”

  “What makes you so confident he’s even inside?” I ask. I expand my senses, just to make sure. “I don’t feel anyone.”

  Smithson gives me a pitying smile. “Hasn’t your experience with James, with me, with the Crusader soldiers taught you anything? You know how reliable our senses are when it comes to things like this.”

  “Fine,” I say. “Then what do you want me to do?”

  “Follow me,” he says. He raises an arm and motions over my head to Paolo and Selene. “Time to move.”

  We skip over the main entrance and reach a side door.

  “Through here,” Smithson says. “Quickly…”

  He makes me go first, which, after all he’s said, obviously puts me on edge. But as soon as I walk in, I see that it is just an empty warehouse, with a few discarded boxes strewn around, and not much else.

  “This is it?” Paolo asks when he joins me. “Where is the obsidian?”

  “Do you think we keep it out in the open? Don’t be a fool!” Smithson walks to one support pillar, examines it, then finds the proper spot. “Ah,” he says. “Here.”

  He presses down on a perfectly camouflaged button. A deep whirr sounds in the background.

  Then, the panel of the floor we’re standing on shifts and starts to descend.

  “Whoa,” Selene gasps, trying to keep her balance. The rest of us have no problem. I suspect the silver on her skin, what with her being so newly made and all, addles her senses.

  We move down into the earth on the elevator platform. After a few minutes of descent, it slows and stops.

  Complete darkness surrounds us down here. Thankfully, we all can see perfectly in it.

  We are in a sort of lobby opposite a massive vault. I’ve been on high alert this whole time. Nothing’s warned me of the presence of our unwelcome friend.

  Smithson strolls out, back straight, shoulders back, all confident swagger again. He reaches the vault and starts to work the mechanism that will open it.

  I wait, tense. The suspense is getting to me. I would not be so anxious usually, but something about this place—

  My thoughts grind to a halt as I realize abruptly who the tension is coming from. Selene is as tense as a coiled spring. Somehow, that anxiety is seeping through the bond and affecting me.

  “Cut it out,” I hiss, fixing her with a stare. “You don’t need to worry all the time. We’re vampires. You’re safe.”

  To my great relief, those words are enough to ease some of Selene’s discomfort. I glance at Smithson, see him still meddling with the lock, and decide to come over to properly comfort Selene.

  I stop beside her. I reach down and take her hand. I squeeze it once.

  “I know you feel exposed,” I tell her. “Thrust into a new world you know nothing about. When I was made, I had spent years dreaming of acquiring the Dark Gift. You did not even know it existed a few hours ago. And even though your wrists are bound,” I let go of her hand, “it is for your own safety. Trust me. Soon, you’ll be one of us.”

  She scoffs loudly, telling me exactly what she thinks of my pep talk.

  Anger flares, coming mostly form the vampire inside.

  “Fine,” I spit. “Stay that way. But damn, woman, you’d better keep your emotions under control. Some are being transferred into me, and I’m perilously close to deciding I don’t want to be impaired by your fear. Vampires don’t age, but they can be killed, you know. Fledglings are even easier to destroy. So, either swallow your fear, or risk pissing me off and making me decide keeping you alive isn’t worth the burden.”

  I give her a strong look to drive home the message. She seems to get it.

  “Ahh,” Smithson announces, as the last piece of the lock slides into place. “Now, we are through.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Paolo

  A Distant Warehouse

  I listen in with half an ear, and an awful lot of distaste, as I hear April trying to placate her fledgling.

  She doesn’t yet understand that Selene will soon grow to loathe her. For now, the fledgling is still in a phase of the high that comes when you realize you have been transformed into something magnificent. But the honeymoon period will soon wear off, and then Selene will remember how April has seen all her memories, has taken them from her, all of them, her most private ones, and experienced them herself…

  Well, that is nothing short of rape. And that unfortunate beginning to their relationship will taint anything they develop in the future.

  When I first understood what Chandler had done to me, when I was made, I wanted to kill him. I tried to kill him, and almost succeeded, were it not for the interference of his powerful mother—Cierra. The Black Sorceress saved her son and bound me with an oath sworn through magic to protect him and never do him harm.

  It took me ages to get around to accepting the new reality. For decades, I struggled against those invisible bonds.

  Only when I made peace with them did I become a willing member of the pack, tasked with protecting Cierra’s hiding place. The irony now, of course, is that I’m conspiring to kill her.

  The vault door shifts and starts to open. Smithson exhales in relief and takes a step back to let us see.

  An intricate system of levers and gears works all along the door as it slowly crawls open. I am surprised to see a light source on the other side. A sort of ethereal glow, one that seems to be everywhere all at once.

  I also see the obsidian. Huge stockpiles of it lining either side. The black rock absorbs the light, somehow softening it at the same time.

  Or maybe, I do a double take—maybe it’s emitting it?

  Smithson gestures grandly to the entrance. “Inside is all that we came for and more,” he says. “A note about the rock. You saw how Paul activated it in his laboratory. Well, The Order could not simply leave it inert, either. It is a special material more attuned to the Elemental Forces than anything else on earth. Store enough of it in close proximity, lock it away, and the resonance it gives off makes the space seem, to a vampire’s eyes only, to glow. And
that is why, I suspect,” he adds wryly, “we’ll find my old friend here.”

  “There’s nobody inside,” April says. “If there were, we’d know. We would feel him, this Slender Man, whoever he is.”

  “Perhaps,” Smithson answers. “Or perhaps not. Be on your guard.”

  He walks into the vault room first. I come right behind him, stepping in front of April to go before her.

  “Respect the hierarchy,” I remind her, and cross into the room.

  The moment I’m over the threshold an odd sort of aura washes over me. It’s a little like the disorientation that comes from being exposed to too much silver—but not quite.

  My senses are not diminished or muddled or otherwise changed. There is simply a difference in the air, a palpable quality I cannot quite put my finger on.

  I just know I am in a different environment.

  “What you all feel is perfectly ordinary,” Smithson assures us. “As vampires we are kept alive through some mix of the Elemental Forces and the actual blood of our makers. Over time the blood’s influence fades as we embrace our own gifts in full. Simultaneously, the Force’s effect on us grows.”

  “What are these ‘Elemental Forces’?” Selene asks imperiously.

  “Keep quiet,” I snap. “Learn to hold your tongue unless you’re addressed, fledgling.”

  Just for good measure, I direct a burst of influence at her.

  Her eyes widen as it hits. She does not back down, but instead seems to… absorb it.

  I’ve never seen a weaker vampire do that before. I have no idea what it signifies.

  Luckily, the influence still exerts the desired effect. Selene clamps her mouth shut.

  She does look more thoughtful and considerate of the phenomenon than I would like.

  Smithson does a quick circle of the room. “It seems you were right, April,” he says. “We are alone.” He points at a particular stack of obsidian. “We will bring that out and take it back to James. It will be more than enough. The rest, we keep locked up.”

  We all get to work. My senses are still on high alert. I’m waiting anxiously for the Slender Man to make an appearance, or for Selene to try to run, or something of that sort.