Evanescere: Origins

by Vanessa Buckingham

  Jack has always patient with me. In this suspended state I saw flashes of my previous life. I fought to keep those memories. My thoughts were always on my children. This has been the darkest part of my life. Had I been human, I don’t think Lithium would have worked on me. I could feel Ambrogio’s thoughts enter my own and I would retreat further into my mind.

  I sat statuesque for what seemed like an eternity. I was not ready to face my life just yet. I wanted to be alone to allow my fractured mind heal. I wanted to continue to dream about holding my children in my arms. To dream I was back with them in a live that was normal and simple. At times the thoughts of the mortals would break through and I could hear their hopes and dreams. Again I would retreat further into myself. I did not want to think about what they wanted. I envied them their warmth, their life, their death. I could not yet come out of my mind until I could heal it and let go of the past. I had to let go in order to save myself and save my family from self-destructing. It was not because I did not know how? It was always because I was not ready to let them go. They are what has keep me grounded in this life. My family has always been my everything.

  At times, blood red tears would escape my eyes and Jack would gently wipe them away. Sometimes I would find my mind on the girl, reliving that horrible moment. That moment was torture. I was living my own hell on earth. I just wanted to end it all, but I could not do it. Immortality does not give you a way out. You have to learn how to fight your own personal demons; otherwise, you would lose yourself.

  The moment I broke. Jack took care of the girl. I refused to enter his mind see what he had done or what had happened to her. When he found me it had frightened him to no end. He was not sure if I had been injured in some way. He had tried to wake me and he found I would not waken. He knew this was not true death. I don’t know how long I sat there in the muddy marsh, catatonic before he found me and brought me home. I was so lost and broken.

  I felt a familiar fuzzy haze. “Ambrogio,” I thought. Suddenly my mind swirled. He is intoxicated and breaking into my mind somehow. I put up mental walls and still he would go through them. He would go through as if they were not even there. Finally, I was too tired and intoxicated to continue. I felt a mental snap. Where I took Ambrogio’s pain, he was trying to repay the favor and take my pain into himself.

  It was beginning to annoy me. I was beginning to hate the intoxicating effect he was projecting to me. The longer he was in my head the more I wakened. Little by little he forced me out of my state. It was a mental battle amongst two drunken minds. Only I was not truly intoxicated. Ambrogio was making me feel what he wanted me to in order to weaken my mind and be able to invade it. He was truly calculating.

  “Damn you,” Ambrogio, I said when I left my mind. I was still groggy and I felt it. My head still swirled in a drunken haze. I tried to shake it off. Ambrosio was not yet going to lift whatever it was he does.

  “Did someone call out my name?” He innocently asked, only I saw two of him. Double the trouble I thought. It was taking some time for my head to clear. I know there was only one Ambrogio. Always one and never more. I wanted to curse him back to the hole he crawled out of, but in reality I was quite pleased to see him.

  I saw Jack appear at Ambrogio’s side. I was still hazy but no longer intoxicated. I did not know whether to be mad or retreat again. Before I could retreat into my mind again, Ambrogio’s words stopped me. I began to feel that wonderful haze and the world was spinning again. If he wanted to he could have probably kept in this state indefinitely.

  “We have a problem?” he said. That stopped me in my tracks. I felt a chill run down my spine. I did not want to hear what he had to say. I was so lost in my own pain that I did not want to feel someone else’s.

  “What could possibly be the problem, other than my children will one day die, and there is nothing I can do about it. I will have to sit back and watch them wither and die before my very eyes,” I spat out.

  “How can you, the lovely Salome, be so selfish in a time of need? He asked in his laid back manner.

  As much as I cared for Ambrogio he was beginning to get on my nerves. I crouched into a defensive pose. I was angry at the world. I was angry with Ambrogio for forcing me to bear witness to the mortality of my own children.

  “Salome,” Jack started. He was in disbelief over my tone and attitude. “Please,” he begged. I entered his thoughts. What I saw there frightened me. The body count, so many, unnatural deaths.

  “What day is it,” I asked quietly in disbelief of what it was I had just seen.

  “Wednesday,” answered Jack. “Wednesday, April 6,” he clarified for me.

  I looked at him stunned. It had been six months since I retreated into myself. Six months since the girl had died. I did not want to see the images in Jacks mind. I was glad he chose this moment to block me out. I did not want to know what had occurred during this time. I just wanted to know that my children were still alive, but for the moment I would have to wait to find out.

  “Ambrogio, what brings you here to New Orleans?” I asked.

  “My villa was attacked. Some rogue fed on my family,” he replied. Each word dripped in a cool collected anger. I did not and could not understand who or why his villa was attacked. It was beyond my comprehension and from their faces, it was beyond theirs as wells.

  I remembered Amrogio’s help. They were like family to him. Many of the people there were descendants of those who served him during his mortal life. He has treated them as family and appreciated them. He would protect him. There was an unfaltering loyalty there.

  “Who would do such a thing?” I asked of him.

  “The attack occurred shortly after your departure. I followed the feign here and New Orleans has been his hunting ground since your... ah... departure,” he told me. He was a bit hesitant to disclose this information to me, which seemed odd.

  “How many?” I asked him.

  “The count in New Orleans alone is approaching ninety.”

  “How many?” I asked again.

  “Almost six hundred from Europe, Mexico and New Orleans,” he responded solemnly, “maybe more.” It was a somber time. I could feel the anticipation growing inside of me with every word. We must all be cautious. If there was a vampire hunting humans and immortal alike, then we are all damned.

  “That many. How? What is going on?” I wondered out loud.

  “I saw the feign when he attacked my people. He is rogue. I have never seen him before. I have followed his trail from Italy, Mexico and now here. It appears he is always one step ahead of me. I get close enough to him and suddenly he is gone. It appears he has been following you two,” he explained.

  “What do you mean that he has been following us?” I asked. Shocked by what I had just heard from his lips.

  I caught a glimpse of him. He looked oddly familiar. I scanned my memories for the man, and I find him. I focus on my last memory of human life and project it to Jack. In this version of my death I did not recall seeing this man there. Then I focus on the other memory, the one with the unknown man from my last assailants mind, the witness to my death and also project it to him.

  He is surprised. He too does not know who the man is, nor what would be the reason for his ravenous thirst. It seemed that his murderous rampage had a more sport like feel to it. The only difference in my memory and Ambrogio’s is that in my memory the man is mortal and in his memory the man is a vampire.

  “How can this be?” Ambrogio asked. He hacked into my mind again. Ambrogio is like a computer hacker except for vampires. It is an awkward experience to have Ambrogio invade your mind. I knew that when I did you did not feel the mental assault. I did not think he did this intentionally. I think he did it because he expected you to yield to him. His mental assault would leave you vulnerable, every thought, every dream you ever had was open for him to see.

  “I don’t know,” Jack and I both answered simultaneously.

  Without a word Jack walked out of the room, leavi
ng Ambrogio and I in the great room. My body ached, it burned, it yearned for nourishment. I realized I had not fed in six months. I could hear Jack on the phone in the other room He was gone for several minutes. When he returned, he just said we had to hunt and then he would tell us. I caught most of the conversation, though just his side. He had summoned a council.

  I did not know such a thing as a vampire council existed. I have been a vampire by this point for almost four years, of course I slept for the last six months. I looked down myself and realized I was wearing a powder blue silk dress with a drooping neckline. I looked at Jack for explanation. He smiled and cocked his brow.

  “It looks beautiful on you,” he said.

  “Not that, do you really think I want to go hunting in a dress?” I asked with a smile.

  “Right,” he said.

  I ran up the stairs and was down in a minute in jeans, a beautiful white peasant top and black riding boots. I braided my hair on my descent. The braid was simple, but elegant. I heard Jack’s breath catch. I heard Ambrogio chuckle.

  “Shall we go?” I asked.

  We walked the streets of the French Quarter in our hunt. Jack held my hand in his firm grasp. He was worried I would make myself known without a second thought. He was trying to protect the innocent from me. I focused my thoughts to the people of New Orleans, seeking that one thought, but I found none. The streets were silent. I could catch the fear of being the next target in the minds of the humans. The murders were a highly discussed topic these days. You could practically feel the tension in the air. Human blood is not on the menu today.

  I shake my head and head for the Louisiana swamps to hunt. I need to invest in a blood bank I tell myself. Just like Ambrogio.

  “Not a bad idea?” I hear Jack say.

  “When you think about it, we would not have to kill anyone, and the blood would be donated, with no one the wiser and no life lost,” I said.

  “I bought the blood bank near my villa when I learned that blood could be safely stored. Our methods are highly advanced. I used it more for the salvation of those who rely on it. It makes it easier for me to not have to go hunting when I could have the blood delivered to me by the staff,” Ambrosio explained.

  I imagined it had pained him to take a life when he had to feed and now no life is lost and he using the same method to donate blood to the humans. I saw Ambrogio nod and smile in agreement to my unspoken thought.

  I take down a buck, a doe, a couple of wild boars, and a cat. Purely accidental. I swear. When your instincts take over, it makes it a little difficult to stop them. It becomes difficult to determine the innocent from our dinner. Had we been hunting an evil human being and an innocent happened to be in the way while we fed, then Lord have mercy on our souls. The cat just happened to wonder into the hunt.

  Jack laughs at this faux pas.

  “Well,” I said, “it certainly beats sewer rats. Those filthy beasts.” We all laugh lightly.

  I could not help it I loved Jack more and he loved me back. He has been patient with me, but I know we would still wait for that declaration, my human family still stands in the way.

  17. COUNCIL

  W

  HEN I HEARD JACK WAS GOING TO schedule a counsel, I was not sure what to expect. There were five vampires who made up the counsel, with Jack being among the five, they began to arrive one by one over the course of the week. I was surprised when I saw that Lorelei was a part of the council. I had not seen Lorelei since I became a vampire. In the meantime, there was two more murders. Jack hacked the police database to see what evidence there was. The modus operandus was the same. A young black woman drained of all blood with no visible wounds.

  All of the victims were in their late twenties to early thirties. We just did not know what the connection was to each of them. They fit no profile. They were black, white, Asian, Hispanic, short, tall, rich and poor. No one woman had any visible connection to the next. Each victim a stranger to the next. The police felt powerless to protect the city. They were working under the assumption that maybe there was more than one murderer, more than one serial killer and that is why they could not find the link between the women. We would need to move swiftly to defend the city. We were going to war on a dangerous predator.

  What frightened us even more was the fact that this rogue was destroying our town. All of the other vampires in the area were all concerned. I had never realized just how many vampires there were in New Orleans, at least a dozen. Many of them just wanted to maintain their anonymity. We were grateful that they would help us defend the city. The only problem was we did not know how or where to find this monster. No one knew who created such a monster. Ambogio painted a description of the feign from both my memory and his. Obviously Ambrogio painting was more contemporary than I had expected of him. Ambrogio was talented this way. The paintings in his villa were stunning, many of them were from past styles, such as the Renaissance, Impressionism and Expressionism. There was so much detail to his art. I guess when you have the eternal time you just make do with what you are given. I was surprised by his attention to detail on the feign.

  The vampire we sought has a short dark hair, broad shoulders, has an olive complexion and a stranger mark on his neck. It was something we could not quite entirely work out. As I looked at him, I could make out the slight Creole features on his face. So we knew he was definitely from Louisiana. The only thing we could do is scour the missing persons’ database to find out who this man is. Jack searched the databases and came up empty. He continued to search for a clue, a lead, or whatever brought us closer to his capture. The council meeting was one member short. We were waiting for an old one. Apparently he was coming in from somewhere in the Middle East.

  According to some unseen edict we could not begin the council meeting until all members are present. At this point, time is of the essence. This feign was on a rampage. The tourists are currently staying away from the French Quarter, this was bad, really bad. We just did not know how bad.

  I stood silently watching and listening, when something about what Ambrogio said, kept intruding into my thoughts. I thought back to what he said and repeated the conversation over in my head. Suddenly it clicked. Ambrogio said the he followed the feign from Italy to Mexico to New Orleans.

  “Ambrogio, where in Mexico did you say you followed the feign?”

  “I followed the trail to Northern Mexico,” he replied curiosity dripping in his voice. He sensed I knew something yet; I to had learned to keep him out. Jack turned to me. The questions burning in his mind. The answer was obvious but I still did not know the reason.

  “Jack when we went to Mexico we heard about all of the women disappearing in Northern Mexico,” I began.

  “Yes,” he interrupted.

  “You see Jack, we made the assumption that human men were killing the women, but what if the feign was actually responsible and we took care of the wrong problem. What if he was near us the entire time?” I explained.

  “But why?” He asked, “What would be the reason for his actions?”

  “The only thing I can think of is that he has some connection to the monsters that left me for dead. We have to try to find the connection. We are running out of time?” I said anxiously. If it had been up to me I would have left in this moment, this very instant to hunt him down and end him. “Jack,” I continued, we had been hearing of the murders form England, Italy and Mexico. We assumed it was just coincidence, senseless violence, but it was not until we were in Mexico that he more dangerous. More violent like he just exploded and let his nature take control. Maybe it was there that he was trying to capture our attention. Think about it. In Mexico, the bloodshed was higher. He wanted us to know he was there. Even Chief believed another vampire was responsible but he could not prove it,” I explained. My anxiety rising by the second.

  Suddenly comprehension dawned on him. He called for the council members to gather in the courtyard. This was big. Before he entered he called the missing council memb
er; he could not be reached. Something was wrong. I sensed their tension. The council will proceed regardless of what edict declares. This was an urgent matter that needed our immediate attention. It appeared that the old one had forsaken us. The question was why?

  As the council met in the courtyard discussing their theories, there was a silent knock on the door. Lorelei went to answer. I heard her surprise. I saw what she saw; the feign had brought death to our door. I saw the woman barely breathing, curled on our doorstep. In an instant Jack and the others were by her side. Jack lifted her in his arms and swiftly carried her to the couch. He checked her pulse. It was unnecessary we could all hear her heart stuttering and slowing down. I caught a familiar scent.

  I was stunned by the familiarity of it. I wanted to follow the trail before it was lost. While the council attended to the girl, I walked to the door. I breathed in the night air, I caught the strong scent of rain, the smell of the Magnolias. The scent of the feign was stronger out here enhanced by the rain. I was about to run off after the monster when a steel grip grabbed me. I turned around, in a crouched position, ready to attack. It took me a second to snap out of it. It was Ambrogio, slowly shaking his head.

  “You are needed here,” he said gently.

  “His scent is strong. If we follow it now we can catch him,” I said. I pleaded with him to let me go in pursuit and still he shook his head. His shoulders sagged with age, with helplessness.

  “Now is not a good time,” he gently told me. “You need to keep your humanity, this monstrosity is not going to destroy the very thing that allows you to have compassion and love. It is what makes you stronger than us all. Your strength, your power, it all comes to you because of the maternal instincts you never abandoned. You take away another’s pain, the way a mother comforts a sick or injured child. If you lose your humanity for the sake of this being you will lose everything that you are,” he tells me.