by Joe Fowler
I liked the purple! The only thing that seemed to change from facility to facility was the paint color. We walked the purple corridors until we were in the waiting room. We didn’t have to sit this time. A local vampire led us to our rooms.
“The training room is open. The donor room will be ready in an hour. The male showers are full at the moment but that shouldn’t be too much of a delay. Welcome to our facility.” The local vampire was trying to be overly polite. His mind was blocked efficiently. I couldn’t read anything from him other than seeing his gift of teleporting.
After he left, we debated what we wanted to do. I really wanted a shower but would wait for a better time. We decided on the training room.
There were two other groups in the training room when we entered. The walls here were painted orange instead of the bright red of all other training rooms I had entered. Since very little changes from facility to facility, I wondered at why.
Cindy was here. I was happy to see her. This meant Lorac was already here. I liked that too. I would make sure I got to talk to her this time.
Our group paired off. Trog sparred with Not Apollo. Penny sparred with Charles. Sweetie and I paired up and watched.
I looked around the room and figured now would be as good a time as any. Cindy was watching at the moment. She looked bored.
“I will be back soon.” I assured Sweetie. She was getting better but still had panic attacks when I wasn’t around.
I started walking toward Cindy. She caught the movement and looked at me. She smiled when I motioned for her to come talk to me. We met halfway between our groups.
“I’ve been wanting to talk to you since this started.” She told me as we hugged.
“Me too. They told me how unlikely that would be.” I looked at her closely. “How are you holding up? I can see you have evasion as a gift. That can be really effective.”
“Well, it isn’t what you have but it works.” She said, with a smile. “You have created quite a stir. The last event we were at was in an uproar. You weren’t even there and you were all anybody wanted to talk about. Everyone wants to know if you are going to kill all the old ones like Ares tried to do.”
“No. I have no intention of attacking them. Don’t spread this around, please. I am in love with Arria, my old one. She has feelings for me too. All I want is for this fuss to die down so I can enjoy my time with her.” I surprised Cindy with that. Once the initial shock was gone, she smiled and hugged me again.
“I always wanted you to find someone. You used to seem so lonely. I knew we weren’t a good fit or I would have tried.” Her face screwed up in mixed emotions. “I hate to admit it but I fed on Sharon. She was always acting like she was better than us. I couldn’t stand her. I drained her. I know that is bad but I couldn’t help it. She was getting on my nerves even while I was feeding off of her.”
My laughter caught her by surprise.
“Our boss met the same fate.” She now understood and laughed too. “He was scared and asking what was going on. I told him he was still in the restaurant business of feeding the hungry. I drained him.”
“I wish I could have seen that. What about the cook?”
“He was a donor too. Someone else drained him.” I shook my head sadly. “We would sound like monsters to our old selves. Laughing and smiling because we killed people. I try and tell myself they deserved it. I know it wouldn’t have mattered anyway. They would have been drained by another if we hadn’t done it.”
“That is true. That’s what I tell myself.” Her eyes teared up.
I knew by her look that she wasn’t about to cry for the people she drained. I wasn’t going to say his name. I knew she missed Tommy. Her son would have to grow up without his mother now.
“How does your group get along? Ours seem to be closer knit than most.” I asked. We needed a subject change.
“I have a couple of friends and a couple of assholes. I know it could be worse. Tell me what your gift is like. Did you start out more powerful?”
“I was stronger and faster than the ones gifted with speed and strength. I was a match for a seven hundred year old vampire. Now, I am much faster and stronger than I started out being and I have amassed more than a few gifts along the way.”
“You struggled at the last fight I saw. I was shocked. I had heard rumors of what you could do and wondered why she gave you problems.” Cindy’s concern was evident in her voice. I was staying out of her head. She was too much of a good memory to betray the sanctity of her mind like that.
“She cheated. The announcer gave her a signal and she started early. She had emotional control. She filled me with fear and confusion to the point where I couldn’t function.” I saw the obvious question in her eyes. “I heard Arria’s voice cry out. That helped me to focus well enough to regain control. No one short of the old ones can pose a threat to me now.”
“I am happy about that part. I hope we can make it through the ten fights. I would love it if we worked for the same old one, which looks like it will be Arria.”
“I have met Lorac. I liked him.”
“He seems to be okay. He hasn’t been mean to us or anything. Does he know we were friends from before?”
“Yes. I asked him before the fights when we were at the same venue, if I would have to fight you. He said no. They had already scheduled the matches. I am hoping that he will work to keep us from having to face each other.”
“Could my evasion work against you?”
“No. I faced someone with that ability. I can move faster than you can avoid. You are limited by your own speed. Sorry.”
“Don’t be. We didn’t choose this and we couldn’t control what gifts we were given.” Her words came out sad.
Neither of us knew what to say. I hoped that this talk wasn’t putting a bullseye on her. I was happy to talk to her though.
“I better get back to my group. I feel like I have to warn you. Someone might get the wrong idea by us talking. You’ve seen the craziness my gift is causing. Be careful. I hope I haven’t put you in any danger.”
“It was worth it. I am glad we got to talk.” She sounded like she meant it.
We shared a smile and returned to our groups.
“Was she okay?” Sweetie asked.
“Yes. She is holding up pretty well.”
“What is her gift?”
“Evasion. She can avoid any attack.”
Sweetie and I turned our attention back to our group’s sparring. Charles was learning fast. He could now see why his gift was so great to have. He was working with the Apollo imposter at the moment. Trog and Penny were only going through the motions. Neither was in the mood for this. They were talking and wanted to go back to our rooms.
I didn’t see any harm in returning to our rooms. I wanted a shower. Charles and Justin were the only ones who would benefit from this and there was only so much that they could gain from working with each other.
I was about to call everyone together when another group entered the training room. There were five vampires in that group. One gift of speed, one of strength, one teleporter, one poisonous, and one that confused me. I couldn’t see any gift. Nothing.
“What are you staring so hard for?” Sweetie asked.
“I can’t see a gift for one of them. I can clearly see the gifts of the rest, but not him.” I looked down at my feet. I would need to ask someone who might know.
“Why does that bother you?” Sweetie was more talkative today.
“I am not sure if he has a gift that would hide its true self, or if he just doesn’t have a gift. It is something different. After the last few days, I would like to know as much as I can about the people around me.”
I knew I needed to stop thinking so hard. A shower would help. I called everyone together and suggested the return to our room. They were happy to agree.
I got directions from Trog and made my way to the showers. They were still crowded but not full. Once the steaming spray hit me, I started to feel better. I took
my confused time. I was afraid that my time problem would leave me standing in the shower for an indefinite period. I relegated myself to only slowing down my motions while I washed.
I walked slowly as I made my way back to my room. Sweetie’s door was open so she would see when I returned. She came out shutting her door as she followed me to my room. She didn’t talk, which was a good thing for me at the time. I was expecting the others but they were keeping themselves occupied without gathering in my room.
Sweetie sat on the floor by the side of my bed. I was half sitting, half lying down. I knew I should sleep now while I could but I didn’t want to.
I didn’t want to dwell on my problems either. I was tired of worrying about the council. The other groups with their spies and agendas were a pain that I wanted to escape from for a while if I could.
I looked at Sweetie. Her head was down and I saw a sweet smile on her face. I usually stayed out of her mind but I decided to take a peek. She was thinking of her little brother. He was much younger than she was. Her sister had only been a little over a year younger than Sweetie herself. They both doted on their little brother. He seemed like a good kid from her memories of him. She missed him terribly.
I pulled out of her mind since her memories should be private. I wanted to smile. I was trying to be a conscientious mind reader now. So much of my time as a vampire had been spent trying to find spies and such that I had done way too much snooping into people’s brains. I was happy for the turnaround.
I heard the footsteps in the hall before I saw him. Noah came into view in my doorway. He looked to Sweetie and had a curious smile. He looked up at me and let his smile fade a little. I was curious as to why. I knew I wouldn’t read anything in his mind that he didn’t want known, so I didn’t try.
“Arria wants to see you.” He informed me.
“Okay. Sweetie, I’ll knock on your door when I return.”
“That’ll work.” She stood and made her way past Noah. I heard her door close softly.
“Lorac is with her. Just wanted to give you a heads up.” Noah told me as we made our way down the corridor.
“Thanks.” I said, quietly. I knew he would hear.
Arria answered between knocks. My spirits were lifted when I saw her face. She seemed to feel the same.
“Thank you, Noah. You may go.”
“Yes, Arria.” He bowed respectfully and left.
“Come, Lorac is here. Maybe between the three of us we can form a plan.” Arria said, as she took my hand and led me to a chair.
“Ghost has filled me in on some things I missed.” Lorac said. He saw the hand holding between Arria and me. He smiled briefly. His mind was shut to me, so I don’t know how he truly felt about it.
“So he is working with you now?” I asked. I could assume but I wanted to know for sure.
“Yes. I can never get used to the speed of his mind. It is an amazing thing.” Lorac sounded like me when it came to Ghost.
I took a seat and Arria took a different chair. I liked the hand holding. It was a sweet way to start. We still had the entire relationship ahead of us. I kind of liked that we would take it slow. As long as it doesn’t take too long.
“His insights were scary sometimes. He didn’t need to read minds. He just knew. A word of advice. Don’t expect to be able to hide much when he is around. He sees everything.” I told him.
“Noted. Now, what’s the feel of the training room here?” Lorac sat forward in his chair. He wanted to get into the heart of the story.
“It was calm. Business as usual. There were two exceptions. One, I spoke with Cindy. I hoped you wouldn’t mind. It was just old friends saying hello. Two, one of the members of a different group doesn’t have a readable gift.”
“Explain that.” Arria stated.
“One of the gifts I’ve accumulated shows me what each person’s gift is. One of the group that entered the training room wasn’t readable. I am not sure if he has an unusual gift that I can’t read or if he doesn’t have a gift at all.”
“Every vampire has a gift. It has always been that way.” Arria assured me. “Can you describe him for us? Maybe we can identify him.”
“I can do better than that.” I told them.
I called up Sweetie’s gift in my mind. I pictured the group he belonged to. I then placed their likenesses in the room for Lorac and Arria to see.
“You must have drank from Sweetie.” Arria figured.
“I had to. She wasn’t going to fight. She was too sweet to let die like that. I drank from her to show her how to use her gift.” I turned back to the illusion. I moved the one I couldn’t read to the front. “This is the one I couldn’t read. I brought up the whole group so maybe you could identify one or more to know which council member they belong to.”
“They are Cadoc’s fighters. I recognize two of them but not the one you can’t read. I will try and look into it.” Lorac seemed puzzled. “What gift would cause this? Did he come close enough for you to read his mind?”
“No. They were across the room. I can read gifts from any distance but the mind reading only has about a twenty to thirty foot range.”
“That will increase as you get older.” Lorac informed me. I wasn’t going to point out that I might not get much older. My mind wasn’t doing so well.
“You told me your assessment of Gray. What can you tell me about Noah? I don’t even know what his gift is. Gray assured me that she knew him and he could be trusted absolutely. Aegeus vouched for him as well.” Arria had a right to be suspicious.
“He can be trusted. His gift is illusions. Speaking of illusions.” I realized I was still holding the illusion of the group I saw. I let it go from my mind and the scene disappeared. “He does have an off feel to him. Not in a bad way, just different. Like I said, I think you can trust him.”
“You will get those from time to time. It is a little like what is happening to you. When turning, there are some reactions that have lasting effects. No one knows why.” Lorac explained.
“Good to know. Arria filled me in on some of the council members. Alethea is a friend and would take our side. Aegeus is fair and would listen to the evidence before making a decision. Agda would normally be trusted but she is more afraid of what I could become than the rest of them. Cheng, Cadoc, and Lajos are the ones who likely caused the trouble we’ve already seen. Feng is the oldest and is the leader of the council. Feng would try to be fair but is close with Agda and would likely take her side. Those were the main points I remember.”
“Those are the basic things. For now, you don’t need to know more.” Arria assured me.
“While you are around the fighters from the other groups, you should gather any information you can. We feel fairly certain this event will be without incident, but it doesn’t hurt to prepare ourselves.” Lorac suggested.
“Will do.” I could feel myself getting sleepy again. I stood up to keep myself awake.
“What’s wrong?” Arria asked.
“Getting a little sleepy. It’s not bad, but I wanted to make sure I stay awake.”
“How quickly are the symptoms getting worse?” Lorac asked.
“I’m sleeping more. The time thing has me in a bind. I have started to watch the actions of those around me and try to remember how long those actions would have taken. It is the closest I can get to estimating the passing of time now. It is hard to tell a moment from a day.” I didn’t want to upset Arria but I felt I should be truthful. “I’m not sure that is progressing faster or slower though. My thinking hasn’t been affected.”
“Good. That is the sign of the end. When your thoughts begin to jumble and you can’t focus, you will be near the end. This can be soon or it could take a century. We don’t have any way of knowing. I have put word out that a healer was needed. Of course, I couldn’t say why but I should be informed if a new vampire is reborn with the healing gift.” Lorac assured me.
I looked at Arria. She had her head down. I hated this for her. I was
n’t exactly happy about it for myself, but I knew it was taking a toll on her as well.
“What can I expect while we are here? Arria said the council will be discussing me and my gift. Will I be present during those discussions?” I needed to know and I needed to change the subject.
“Probably not. They may ask for you after we have discussed things among ourselves. It depends on them, mostly. I will be telling them all that I saw in your mind when you first opened it for me. We will also have Arria’s love for you working in our favor. If we have to, we will tell them of your problem. Once they learn you may die before becoming too powerful, they might let up on their fear of you.” Lorac stated.
“How old was Ares when he started actually attacking old ones?” I asked.
“He had been a vampire for around thirty-five years. He was steadily growing stronger. Each time he drank from a speed gift, he grew faster. Each time from a strength gift, he grew stronger. He reached an impressive level even before he drank from an old one.” Arria said.
“I didn’t try that. I drank from Speedy but I haven’t from Charles. I didn’t know I could gain each time I drank in a gift. It isn’t all that important but it is good to know.”
“Why do you say it isn’t important? The more gifts you take in, the better chance you have of overcoming the unraveling. The extra blood alone could help keep you stronger and would cut down on how much you need to sleep.” Arria explained.
“I didn’t know. I will drink when I get the chance now.”
I was fighting sleep pretty hard at this point. If I were sitting down, I would have already gone under. I was struggling as it was. Arria must have seen this. She pulled the donor rope three times.
“Try and stay awake until the donors arrive. The rules state that you can only have one of the donors. I would let you have mine if I could.” Arria stated. “These are like the ones before. You can’t drain them. Just take enough.”
“I might think...” Lorac started but didn’t finish. Arria and I were both looking at him but he shook his head. “Let me think that through before I share it.”
Since I didn’t know what he was contemplating, I shrugged it off. The donors arrived sometime after. I would say it was soon but how would I know.
