by Lumi Laura
CHAPTER 12 Catalin: The Cross
That evening, Alex walked out the backdoor. Her wounds from the rapist had already healed. She wasn't even sore, but still, she wanted to talk to Catalin. She blamed him. If he'd looked after Velinar as he should, none of this would have happened. He'd said so himself.
Her eyes rapidly adjusted to the night. She could feel something new in the air, something strange and wonderful. She coveted the darkness, and loved the points of light in the distance, the brightness that pricked the night. She seemed at one with nature and felt a cosmic connection, sensed continent grind against continent pushing the Carpathians ever higher. She felt Earth turn on its axis.
She reached the clearing and the ruins of the ancient gazebo, all shrouded in darkness. The object she noticed first was the tree shoot from her seed. It had already grown into a small but sturdy sapling. How could that be? she wondered. It's been but a couple of days.
She stepped onto the foundation, but saw only darkness. Catalin was nowhere in sight. She waited, staring off into the surrounding gloom. She noticed that she cast a faint shadow and hearing something behind her, she flinched, and turned to see Catalin standing facing her.
"Sorry I frightened you," he said. "I'd given up on you coming, again." His form did glow a little in the deep darkness.
"You should be more careful."
"I've come to tell you more about your 'condition'," he said. "Velinar is sure you'll gradually return to the way you were. She..." He stopped. "What's wrong with you? Something has changed." He'd become course, agitated. He backed away. "What in Heaven's Name! You're a vampire." His face showed great fear.
"Yes," Alex said. "What you said couldn't happened."
"What did you do? Stay back! Don't come near me. Even to an apparition, you can cause trauma."
"I was raped. I fought him with all the strength I could muster."
"The strength and ways of a vampire. Did you kill him?"
"I lost control." She sighed. Surely he'd understand.
Catalin showed no sympathy. "I can't help you. Not after this." He turned to go. "Being around you is too risky, especially for me."
"But this isn't my fault. It's yours and Velinar's."
He glanced back at her. "It isn't about fault. This is the way of the world, your world, and it's your problem."
"But please..."
Again he turned to go but stopped. He looked more closely at her. "What's that under your blouse?"
"Well, yes. The breast augmentation is great. Small consolation though."
"No, that around your neck. Please tell me it's a cross."
Alex pulled the chain from within her garment. "The priest offered several, but only this felt right."
"A vampire can't wear a cross," he said, his fear easing. "As a matter of fact, you shouldn't even be able to enter the gazebo. How can you be a vampire?"
"That's my question," she said. "I can wear one of gold or silver, but with a certain amount of pain. This old wooden one fits me perfectly."
"Where did you get it?"
"Father Zosimos. He said it wasn't worth much."
"I'm going to ask a question. Please answer truthfully and completely. Were you wearing the cross when you were raped? When you became a vampire?"
She thought a moment. "Well, yes. That was the first night I wore it."
"Was it around your neck?"
"I've already answered that. When I changed, I witnessed a flash of light that blinded me momentarily."
"I... this... can't be. I've heard rumors, hints concerning such a... transformation."
"Powerful but not very pleasant," she said.
"Yes. I can imagine, or really can't, I suppose."
"I became an animal. Lost all control and sense of who I am. 'Frightening' is the word. Terrifying."
"I've heard prophecies of a vampire, both gifted and tragic, a good vampire with special abilities. She will wield a divine force on Earth, a vampire who will wear Christ's cross. But this is only prophecy, even in the Divine World."
"Father Zosimos told of a legend about this cross, one he did not believe. The legend says that it is made from Christ's cross."
Catalin walked toward her with tears in his eyes. "Oh dear Lord in Heaven. Never have I thought that even in my divine lifetime would I meet such a person. I must tell you the full story of this cross, and also tell you who you are, for the world has been waiting millennia."
Alex looked at him with her nose all wrinkled. "Don't tell me..."
He smiled through tears. "No, you are not the Second Coming." And then he told her that he might be able to confirm the priest's legend, "...whether the wood really is from Christ's cross," he said. "Even in the Divine World, much is secret. I must go for now, but I'll return with the truth and perhaps a word or two about what this means."
But she couldn't let him go. "Just another question, please. I'm greatly troubled by my attachment to two friends I've just made. I'm attracted to them in ways I've never been before, not to anyone."
"Do they share this attraction?"
"Yes, very much. It's as if we've known each other for years. We're actually distant cousins from an legendary family, the Cantacuzenes."
"Yes, a family with an ancient and dark history. If what I believe to be true is, then you are all captives of a myth, one that lives human beings. In your world it's called the Eternal Return and repeats many times throughout human existence. Essentially, you have known them before." He shook his head, stopped. "This is nonsense. I must learn more of this mystery. Ordinarily, we wouldn't involve ourselves in your world, but what Velinar did places some responsibility on me. I can't determine or affect your fate, but perhaps I can help you understand it and who you've become."
"I'm still remembering what happened to me that night," she said. "After Velinar bit me, I collapsed here at the gazebo and dreamed of crossing a river on a ferry at night. Then a few nights later, after killing the man who raped me, I dreamed of being escorted around a marvelous little city with children playing in a park. The buildings were made of some exotic material, and the entire city was a cathedral."
Catalin smiled, and Alex again saw tears in his eyes. "The City of God," he said.
"An angel-like figure allowed me to see the City, but I couldn't stay."
"Enough! We mustn't go too far with this until I learn more."
Alex could tell that this last revelation was greatly troubling. A dark cloud seemed to descend over Catalin. She wished she'd kept her mouth shut.
"I must return to the Divine World for advice," he said. "Our next meeting will be the last. In the meantime, here is another warning. Heed it this time. You'll now be susceptible to evil. You'll know many things that you've not known before, and some will have to do with evil. Be suspicious. Trust no one."
And then he disappeared.
His sudden departure left Alex angry. She'd wanted to tell him about the dark shape she'd seen the night she was raped, the man who'd asked her to come to him.
