‘How did you like flying?’ she asked aloud.
‘I have not the words to describe how much I enjoyed it!’ I told her, smiling madly.
‘This breed of humans displeases me greatly,’ she said aloud, scowling. ‘Shifting into a great eagle hungers that part of me I told you about tremendously. When I feel the need to feast on blood, instead of taking a little sip, as I do from you, I take from the evil ones, or the wicked among the Neanderthals. Don’t be afraid of me, just follow me, and see my true nature when unchecked.’
“She didn’t look very frightening. She looked like a small, skinny, hairless girl, naked for all to see. Except they couldn’t see her. Only I could. She walked directly to a much larger female ‘evil one’ that was slightly apart from the others, waving her hand for me to hurry-up and follow. She paused to breathe in her odor, and to see that I was near enough, before reaching out grabbing her. With one of Gaia’s small hands over her mouth, the female made very little sound as Gaia bent her to her will. As she parted her lips to bite the female’s throat, I saw long fangs emerge amid Gaia’s teeth. She bit down. Hard. The female shrieked from pain and fear of what she couldn’t see, but the hand muffled most of it. Gaia had a fierce look on her face as she forcefully sucked the blood from her victim. It didn’t take very long at all, until the expression on Gaia’s face turned from one of animalistic determination, to one of ultimate human pleasure. Her whole body trembled, like mine when she bit me, and then she dropped the dead body of the female to the ground in a heap.
“After she composed herself, she looked at me to see that I had seen, and entered my mind again to see what I thought. I was surprised by the sudden violence of what had happened, but I was not terrified by it at all. I understood well enough from what she had told me in advance, to know what had happened and why. I remember wondering how she had made her selection for the kill, and meant to ask her. I was also going to mention that she had blood smeared all over her face, but before I could say a word, it disappeared into her skin, absorbed into her whiteness. That really surprised me.
“Checking that the rawhide strap was still hanging around her neck, Gaia shifted back into the giant eagle. Without a word, I climbed back on, and away she flew, back to the winter camp.
“After we had landed, and she had shifted back to herself, she asked, ‘Now your eyes are opened Na. The true nature of things have been shown to you. Can you understand and accept what I am, what I do, and why I do it?’
‘Of course Gaia. All creatures belong to you. You strengthen and improve the ones that please you, and you eliminate of those that do not. Who would not understand that?’
‘Only everyone but you, Na. Everyone but you,’ she said with a smile.
CHAPTER 6: NICHOLAS
“I dream about flying a lot,” the girl muttered sleepily.
I looked at her with my eyes, instead of with my mind, and was quite surprised that she’d spoken, because she shouldn’t have been able to. I’d compelled her to sleep, and every creature I had ever compelled to do anything, had always obeyed. Her eyes began fluttering, trying to open and stay that way. When they did, she turned her head to face me. Her mouth opened, and I expected nothing less than an earth shattering scream. Instead, she said, “I have to pee. Where’s your bathroom?”
I just pointed. The only door in my suite belonged to the bathroom. My bedroom just had a partition wall. She sat up on the couch for just a second, before standing up and wobbling her way to it. The door closed, and I just sat there in my chair, waiting to see what she would do next. In answer to my question, I heard her flush, wash her hands, open the door, and watched her walk directly back to me. She took my hand in hers, and pulled me back to the couch, where she lay back down across me as she had been. She looked up at me with an innocence I hadn’t seen in forever, and said, “Tell me more.” Without even knowing, she’d thoroughly amazed me.
There’s something very different about this girl. There’s no way she should have been able to do that. When I tell an animal to sleep, it sleeps.
“Those who attacked you, were not like me,” I said aloud. “They were diseased and despicable criminals. Vampirism is a relatively new affliction upon the human herd, first appearing near Greece only about 1,500 years ago, after Gaia’s daughter, the goddess Selene had visited here to rest. Damn her! She never takes the time to do anything right. I’m pretty sure that that’s why Gaia made her the goddess of the moon. There’s not much up there to screw up.
“Selene can be a real bitch. I’m sure that’s why Gaia didn’t take her along to wherever it was that she went, to ‘do it all over again’. Selene absolutely won’t listen. Although I was given dominion over Earth and all of its inhabitants, Selene is my equal, so I’m supposed to leave her alone when she visits. After transporting here to Earth, her body hungers greatly for blood, which is normal for a goddess. She feeds it, as she should, but she will not kill. Just before her victim dies, (usually a human) she seals the bite wound shut, and walks away. The poor creature lies wherever she dropped it, almost dead and almost bloodless. That causes the creature’s organs to shut down, one at a time, finishing with its heart, since the saliva that she used to seal up the bite made it through the jugular vein to it first. From there, it’s a race. If enough of the genes from her saliva make it to the brain of the creature to keep the brain functioning as the rest of the body begins to rot from lack of blood, the creature remains. If not, it dies.
“Three days usually determines it, one way or the other. Either the creature dies or rises again in an undead condition, and suffers an enormous and never ending craving to replace the blood it is missing. Contrary to popular belief, vampires are not immortal like me. They subsist by drinking the blood of animals and absorbing it, including human animals. Their heart no longer pumps blood through their veins. They can no longer digest human food. It would simply rot in their stomach. The accumulation of iron from the blood they absorb makes their tissue heavier and harder with time. They remain in this state indefinitely, gradually hardening and strengthening until destroyed, when their head is separated from their body, so they can no longer drink blood. Eventually, the head itself will die, but the life force of the creature never does. It becomes a formless demon. Vampires are my least favorite humans, but technically still are just that. And therefore, my problem.
“Sometime between Selene’s first visit and now, the genes in these first generation vampires she creates have evolved enough that the vampire has the ability to do the same thing that she does, if they try. They can lick the bite wound, seal it up, and in three days, there is another vampire. Granted, with each generation they start out much weaker, but given enough time, would become just as powerful as any other.
“To keep from being destroyed by the very humans they feed on, first generation vampires created a highly organized secret society, and work very hard to camouflage their existence as mere legend and folktale.
“But. They. Are. Real.
“There are only two ‘rules’ that I gave this organization, which all vampires worldwide must follow. The first is to not expose their existence to humans, for that would endanger them all. The second is that they must take responsibility for any vampires they create; including the teaching of necessary survival skills and these two rules. The punishment for breaking either is destruction.
“You’d think that they could follow just two rules…”
“I meant about you,” she murmured, and then the girl snored.
She’d accepted everything I’d shared with her, and told her. She didn’t appear freaked out in the slightest by any of it. Perhaps that went along with her ability to override my compellation to sleep. That warranted checking out, for sure. She still needed lots of sleep, while her body, assisted by my genes, sped right along at replenishing her blood supply. It was going to change her. I already knew that much. Every new cell generated to replace those missing or damaged would be be a mixture of my genes and hers.
CHAPTER 7: NICHOLAS
“It was an exciting event for me, as I approached the camp of my tribe, laden with smoked bear meat and pulling behind me a travois containing the bear’s pelt. The first to reach me, as always was the case when friendly visitors approached the camp, were the children from all three family groups.
“They ran towards me, giggling and shrieking. Calling, ‘Na! Na! Na returns!’ As they drew close, they stopped in their tracks. They drew close to each other, and became entirely silent.”
‘Na?’ my littlest sister asked, and made the sign for, ‘Who are you?’
“That troubled me. ‘Yes, I am Na!’ I told her, and held out my arms to her. She wouldn’t come to me. Instead, she turned and ran to our tent calling for her birth mother. The other children followed her.
“My sister Seli reached me next. ‘Na! You are… What has happened to you brother?’
‘Many things!’ I told her. ‘Why is everyone looking at me like I am a stranger?’
‘Because you look different. Your skin is lighter.’ She held her hand and arm next to mine. ‘Your hair is longer, and you have gained much muscle in only a few days time.’
‘I did not notice any of that. Seli, I have been in the presence of Earth Mother in person almost the entire time I was gone.’ I made the sign for truth. ‘I could see her, touch her, and talk to her! That may have changed me.’ I wasn’t able to tell her any more, even if I’d wanted to.
‘It has.’ She made the sign for love. ‘What does she look like? Is she pretty? Does she look like us? Is she nice?’
‘Enough. You talk too fast.’ I had to stop her. ‘She is beautiful. Almost like us, but smaller. And no hair.’
‘No hair?’ she asked, her hands automatically touching her own tangled hair.
‘Maybe I should not be saying these things to you,’ I thought aloud.
‘I will keep them secret.’
‘Good. I do not wish to anger Earth Mother. I have learned much that will help our tribe. See the cave bear hide? See the bag heavy on my shoulders? It is full of smoked bear meat.’
“That is when the rest of my family group reached me. They looked at me oddly too, and then my oldest brother yelled, ‘Na has killed a cave bear! See the hide on the travois! It is huge…’
“I reached into the pocket inside of my shirt and retrieved the bear’s teeth that I had saved, and held them forth. Then I began walking towards the tent again, eager to reach it and relieve myself of my burden. As I did, I opened the bag and handed out one piece of bear flesh to each of my family. I wondered if I should tell them that Gaia had killed the bear.”
‘Let them think what they will,’ she told my mind.
“My middle brother, who was always pushing me around and hitting my shoulders, playfully he claimed, grabbed me in a hug and swung his fist to hit my shoulder. I caught his hand and pushed it away from me. That caused him to lose his grip on me. I picked him up off of his feet, and landed him a full pace away from me. That gave everyone pause.
‘He is changed,’ Seli warned him. ‘You must respect Na now, or you will be sorry! Eat the meat he has provided for you, and never again call him weakling.’
“They were all very excited as we unpacked the cave bear hide and spread it out. None of us had ever seen the hide of one before, and it was huge. ‘I have decided that it will top my own tent,’ I announced.
***
“Our entire tribe had gathered for a feast that evening, to honor my return and to hear any news that I might have. ‘Deep inside our cave, further than I have ever been before, there is a wall of this,’ I said, holding up a handful of salt. ‘It is called salt, and it will change the future of our tribe, and our people. Spread on flesh side of the pelt, it draws out all of the wetness, and then scrapes off easily. See how much better the skin feels to the touch, and how fast it has dried properly.”
‘The salt also saves large pieces of meat from rotting,’ I told them. ‘In the place inside the cave where the salt is found, I made a pile of it on the rock. I put all of the big pieces of the bear meat on it, and then covered them over with more salt. That which makes the meat rot cannot enter the salt, so our people can bury enough meat to last us the whole winter in the salt, and we will no longer starve while the snow is on the ground!’
“That made quite an impression on everyone. There were cheers among our mothers and sisters, nods of approval from our fathers. After seeing our fathers reaction, my brothers began arguing about which of them would supply the greatest amount of meat for the salt. The other families crowded closer, and began to get excited too. It was a happy time for the tribe.
“Turning to the chief of the tribe I said, ‘If it is your will, I would take two boys from each family group, and two from the unmarried men to bring bags of salt here to our camp, so that we may all learn what Earth Mother has shown me about making this smoked meat.’
‘Yes!’ he replied immediately. ‘If Earth Mother commands it, then it will be done. Always.’
“It was at that moment, that a clear vision for my future appeared to me. Being Gaia’s representative to the people would assure that I was no longer the ‘weakling’ of the tribe, that got all of the crap jobs. In fact, judging by how the chief had just responded, it should place me equal to him.”
‘That is what I wish for you Na,’ Gaia told my mind. ‘For your tribe, and all other humans as well, in time.’
“The tribe was happy that night. We all knew that something huge was beginning, that would benefit our people forever. We sat around the community fire, and I told them everything that I thought they should know about my time with Earth Mother. I did not tell them about seeing her, sleeping with her, or her transporting me the two times.
“I also noticed something that I had never seen before, at least not towards me. Most of the young women made sure to make direct eye contact with me, and then give me a glimpse of a mischievous smile. That made building my own tent and establishing a new position of power for myself even more important. I immediately felt guilty for thinking that, as I realized that Gaia would know that thought.”
‘Do not feel guilty over that Na. I want you to father many children, by many different mothers. Remember what I told you about selective breeding.’
CHAPTER 8: THIA
I bet he’s making that part up. No woman, goddess or not, is going to tell any man to go around knocking up a bunch of different women.
I was in an odd circumstance, even for me. My body was asleep, apparently at this vampire’s command. My mind however, was not.
‘I promised you, that even though some of the story might sound incredible to you, it would all be true,’ I heard in my head.
Wait… did I just dream that, or did this vampire just answer my thoughts?
‘Yes I did,’ I clearly heard.
No freakin’ way! That’s impossible. Even in the Twilight series, vampires couldn’t read minds. This whole entire thing must be some kind of nightmare. Oh crap. I wonder if he can hear this?
He laughed out loud. ‘Of course I can,’ he replied without hesitation. ‘This is not a nightmare Thia. It is very real. Relax yourself, I mean you no harm.’
Wait! Me dreaming that a vampire is telling me his story in my head is one thing, but now he’s answering my t
houghts? I must be going nuts!
‘You’re not going nuts Thia, but apparently you didn’t pay attention to my story at all, or you’d know that I am not just a vampire!’
‘Quit reading my mind! It’s very rude you know…’ Ugh. Now I’m actually talking to him!
‘I do apologize. Habit. I rarely talk to humans any more, I just observe them mostly.’
He can’t seem to take the hint that I don’t want him in my head. I’m gonna have to figure out a way to block him.
‘Good luck with that,’ he answered in my mind. ‘I need to learn more about you. A lot more, before I decide what to do with you.’
‘Do with me? I hope you’re not going to kill me or anything.’
‘Do pay attention! I just told you that I mean you no harm. If I merely intended to kill you, I would not have bothered to save your life in the first place, nor would I have repaired your pretty face, neck, and hands.’
‘You think I’m pretty? That’s a load of crap. Nobody thinks I’m pretty… Wait a minute! You did tell me that those who attacked me were not like you… Vampires… I was attacked? I don’t remember that right now.’
‘I do think you’re pretty. Beautiful in fact. Don’t worry yourself over what you don’t remember right now. There’ll be plenty of time to talk about that one day. Just know that you are safe with me, and help me to learn a little about you. For reasons I’ll explain later, it’s very important that I know the basics about you.’
‘Ok. I suppose. The last thing I can remember, I was out running. When the kids at Ruth’s house start fighting and getting loud, which is always, I go running to get away from it. Running is my best thing. I can run faster than anyone. I’m so fast, in fact, that I have to be careful not to let other people see. They would never understand. Heck, I don’t understand. I just know it’s the only thing I have left that I got from Mom. She died in a car accident see, and I wound up in foster care because I don’t know who my dad is, and I have no other relatives. Ruth took me in. She has a whole houseful of kids that’re in the system. She’s nice, but I can’t stand all of the commotion there.’
GENESIS (Tales of the Lesser Gods Book 1) Page 5
