by Tish Thawer
I didn't know how I was going to tell Rose that Meredith and I had been seeing each other, so for now, I thought lunch and some casual conversation would be the perfect place to start.
* * * * *
(Rose)
After Dad and I made breakfast, we went online to search for what he thought would be a dependable brand of car for me. We figured we would narrow down our choices today, and when the car lots opened tomorrow, we wouldn't have to waste much time running around from place to place.
"I really like the Ford Focus," Dad said for the hundredth time.
"I don't mind that one I guess. Though the new Mercedes look hot," I giggled. I had never been a car person, so the fact that I even knew the name of a certain kind was pretty much a joke. I also had never really been into name brands, so as far as I was concerned, it really didn't matter to me what I got as long as I got one that I could call my own.
It was about 11 a.m. when we shut the computer off and started to get ready. I wasn't exactly sure why Dad wanted me to go. I mean, I was all up for some shopping, but I really wasn't looking forward to seeing Meredith again. The fact that she looked so much like Mom totally creeped me out.
At 12:30 p.m., Dad's voice echoed up the stairs. "Rose? You ready to go?"
"Yep. Be right down."
As I rounded the bottom of the stairs and caught a glimpse at what Dad was wearing, I had to hold back a snicker. I had expected him to be dressed in his usual business suit or his Sunday best. But instead, he was dressed in a nice pair of stylish jeans, a white button up shirt that he had left untucked, and his leather jacket that I hadn't seen in ages. He had also left a slight five o'clock shadow on his face. I guess he was trying to go for that scruffy, sexy older man look. But, oh my God, this was my dad. What the hell was he thinking? And all of a sudden, it dawned on me. Meredith was more than just a client. And now it looked like I truly would have to kill her.
* * * * *
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
History Lesson
(Evie)
After hearing Balam's idea about what had happened to Terrance, I had sat there in complete shock. I had no idea what to say or what to think. I had never believed in demons or whatever he had called them–zôts. So after allowing me a few moments to calm myself, he continued, trying to explain.
The history lesson that I received went back thousands of years, to the time when the Mayan people were facing the threat of extinction. He explained that Yum Camil, the demon ruler in Xibalba, had sent forth his favored son, Camazotz, the demon bat-god, or blood-feeder, into the human realm. He had told him that he needed to bite and infect as many humans as possible before the end, so that their bloodline would continue on. Because even as demons, they weren't going to escape the end that was quickly approaching their civilization.
Camazotz went into the world at his father's request. He bit and infected as many people as he could, transforming humans into zôts. Demons that fed on blood. And this was the beginning of the vampire race.
I couldn't wrap my head around the fact that Balam was one of the direct descendants of the first vampires ever created.
Though Yum Camil and Camazotz were classified as demons, they weren't inherently evil, so when Camazotz infected the humans, it was the combination of his blood and the light within the human soul that manifested into the ability of drifting.
Balam continued to explain that after some time, the vampires that Camazotz was creating started having a bad reaction to the change.
Balam's theory was that Camazotz, in his effort to complete his father's mission, remained in the human realm for too long. Being out of his natural environment for such an extended period of time had caused his blood to become contaminated.
Camazotz's contaminated blood had infected the new vampires, and right from the start they had drifted straight to dark. Soon after, they became violent and turned on their clan.
Once the fighting began, it became obvious that the dark vampires were passing their infection to the others. Because when a light vampire was bit, they too, drifted dark.
Soon the dark vampires started to outnumber the light ones, and the originals feared that they were going to be overrun.
Camazotz then called upon his father to come aid him in what could only be described as a civil war amongst vampires. Yum Camil came to his son's aid and found that the only way to kill the darkened vampires was for him to bite them again, infecting them with a poison that only he, the ruler of Xibalba, possessed. Upon realizing this, Yum Camil chose a few light vampires, and through his Mayan magic, blessed each of them with the ability to reproduce his poison. These vampires became the first Sires who possessed the poison of true death.
After sending Camazotz back to Xibalba, Yum Camil and the newly created Sires fought to destroy all the darkened vampires. Once the dark ones were eliminated, Yum Camil conducted the first "Passing of Powers" ritual.
In order to bestow the Sires with the sedative of eternal life that was needed to create new vampires, he had to link minds with them. Linking minds with Yum Camil is what led the Sires to have the ability to scan. During this initial rite he also bestowed a time-limit on how long the Sires could hold their powers. This was to prevent a Sire's blood from becoming contaminated like Camazotz's had. He then taught the Sires how to perform the "Passing of Powers" ritual, and then decreed that the Sires divide the remaining light ones into clans and separate to the four corners of the world.
I thought this was where the lesson would stop, but Balam continued to explain the one key point that was relevant to my current situation.
He explained that once the Sires had separated, before returning to Xibalba, Yum Camil continued to infect humans with his own blood. Since he wasn't a blood-feeder by nature like his son the Bat God, the humans weren't transformed into vampires. Instead, they remained human, but had demon blood flowing through their veins. It was this line of humans that had continued to exist throughout time, hiding their demon heritage from the world.
This was the only way that Yum Camil could guarantee that his bloodline would continue, since the humans his son had bitten ended up as a new species entirely. That had been an unforeseen twist to his plan. Balam had explained that Yum Camil hadn't meant for the humans he infected to be a threat to anyone, but that like any dying God, only wanted to meet his end knowing that some part of his race would live on. Obviously he had not taken into account how the two species, his demons and his son's vampires would interact. Who would have ever guessed that they would be like poison to one another?
Apparently the woman Terrance bit six months ago was one of the demon descendants of Yum Camil. Her demon blood had infected him and was the reason behind his fuzzy thoughts and his now permanent darkness.
It was more important than ever to find out just who this woman was. And since the infection prevented me or Terrance from accessing any further information about her, I had no idea how we were going to do that.
Before ending our conversation, I had asked Balam if there was any hope of saving Terrance. His answer had been just what I expected: not that he knew of. Dax was not going to be happy about all I had learned. And right now, I couldn't imagine facing all of them with this kind of news. How was I supposed to explain that all of our lives had just changed and that we were now being faced with demons?
Our feedings were going to have to become very strict and limited to only people we'd fed from before. Because now that it was clear that at least one family with demon blood resided in our area, who knew how many more could be out there? I just couldn't take the risk of any other member of my clan becoming infected.
By the time I finished my phone call, the club was in full swing. I found Dax talking to one of the members of the liquor board who had apparently stopped in to make an impromptu inspection. They seemed to be going through the checklist that the inspector was carrying with him. As the owner, I should have made an appearance and schmoozed the pencil pusher like I always did, b
ut after everything that had happened, I just didn't have the energy to deal with that tonight.
Just as I slid back inside my office, Christian appeared in the doorway.
"Evie, are you alright?" he asked.
I could tell he was nervous, and like the rest of them, probably wanting to know what I had learned. But with Dax and the rest of the clan occupied with their jobs, it was the perfect opportunity to have a conversation with Christian about his potential triggering. "I'm fine Christian, but please come in."
* * * * *
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Business Acquaintance
(Rose)
As we drove to the café, I just couldn't bring myself to question Dad about his relationship with Meredith. So instead, I sat there imagining all the expensive things I was going to buy with the credit card he'd given me, while he pretended to have a business meeting with his whore. Yes, I was that mad.
How in the hell could Dad continue to tell me that it was "too soon" to move on, when he apparently didn't have any trouble moving on from Mom's death whatsoever? The more and more I thought about this, the angrier I was becoming. The rage inside of me was building at a steady pace, and I felt the tears threatening to spill.
"So, like I said, I figured you could do some shopping while Meredith and I have our meeting. I think I remember you mentioning that you needed some supplies for school and some new cookware to replace the things that I ruined at the house," Dad said with a chuckle. "I'll text you once we're done, and then you and I can go to see that new movie that came out. Sound good?"
I can't tell you how hard it was not to scream at him. It took everything I had to say, "Sure Dad. That'll be fine." I had to keep my head turned towards the window, because if I actually looked at him, I knew I would break. But apparently, diverting my face wasn't enough to hide the waves of tension that were rolling off me.
"Is something wrong, Rose?" he asked.
Damn it, why couldn't he have just let it drop? "Well, Dad, now that you mention it, I guess I'm not really looking forward to seeing Meredith again, since it's obvious that she is more to you than just a business acquaintance." I knew my voice carried a tinge of anger, and I didn't care.
A sigh escaped his lips, as he shook his head back and forth. "Rose, I'm so sorry. I had no intention of dating Meredith when we first met, but after getting to know her, we really hit it off, and spending time with her has truly helped me deal with my grief. I didn't say anything because I just didn't think you would understand." Guilt as thick as molasses dripped from his voice.
"Oh no, Dad, I understand just fine. You banging someone that looks just like Mom really helps lessen the blow that she's truly gone." Fuck being nice; I'd had enough of being kept in the dark.
"Rose Reynolds! You watch your mouth. How dare you say such a thing to me? I loved your mother with all my heart and I would never disrespect her memory by using someone else as a substitute for what we had together. Yes, Meredith does have similar features to your mother's, but what's really important is that she makes me feel alive again, which is something that I never thought would happen. Don't you dare think you are old enough to understand what I've gone through."
I was confused by his last comment, but didn't have time to dwell on it since we had just pulled up to the café. I threw open the door and bolted from car, "Enjoy your lunch, Dad. Maybe I'll see you at home?" I ran into the crowd before Dad even had a chance to shut off the car. I noticed Meredith sitting at one of the café tables as I ran by. She looked up, preparing to smile, but then got the most curious look on her face. I was extremely angry, and seeing the most vicious frown form on that bitch's face had only made it worse.
* * * * *
(Jeremy/Dad)
"Jeremy, what's happened?" Meredith asked me as I approached the table.
"Rose knows about us, and it didn't go well," I explained.
Damn it. I hadn't wanted her to find out like this. I had hoped to have a successful business meeting with Meredith before things turned personal. I was planning to tell Meredith that I wanted to let Rose know about us, and then ask Rose to join us for dessert. That way they could spend a little time getting to know each other before I shared the news. So much for that plan.
I had never seen Rose act that way. She had always been so level-headed, and such a good girl. I couldn't believe the venom that her words had carried.
"I should go after her." I started to panic, because I suddenly remembered the last words Rose had said, "Maybe I'll see you at home." I had to find her before she did something stupid.
"Jeremy, I think you should just let her blow off some steam. She'll cool down after a while and then we can go look for her. The fact that she doesn't have a car yet is definitely a good thing right now. She shouldn't be able to get too far," Meredith reasoned.
"I guess you're right." Resolved to let Rose cool down before we continued this conversation, I sat down and reached for Meredith's hand. "Thank you. I'm really glad that you're here."
* * * * *
(Rose)
Watching Dad reach for that bitch's hand made me want to scream. I had run into the nearest alley between two of the shops and propped myself up against the brick wall while I tried to catch my breath. Then I had peeked out to see how close behind me Dad was. But, to my surprise, he wasn't even following me. He had sat down with Meredith instead and then reached for her hand.
That was it. I'd had it. I had been feeling guilty that I was going to be moving out and leaving Dad all alone, but it was pretty obvious that he had someone else to fill the void that Mom, and now I, would be leaving in his life. What a bastard.
* * * * *
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Dream Come True
(Christian)
As I entered Evie's office, I could tell that whatever she had learned from her Sire had left her shaken. Her hair had drifted a little darker and it looked like she had run her fingers through it a number of times. But I just couldn't control my curiosity. "What did you find out from Balam?"
After she lowered herself into her chair, she closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. "I think it's best if I tell everyone the information I learned from Balam after closing, but right now there is something else that I want to discuss with you."
Damn, I really wanted to get to the bottom of this, and waiting until closing to find out what
Evie had learned was going to be torture. "Okay, what is it?"
"Well, I'll cut right to the chase. I have reasons to believe that you are being triggered to become the new Sire." Even though she looked tired, the smile on her face indicated that for her, this was good news.
"Are you kidding me?" I was starting to feel a little anxious, since this was the second time that someone had mentioned this to me.
"No, Christian. I'm not kidding you. And if I'm right, it will be a dream come true for me. From the moment that I found you on the Swedish island of Gotland, it was clear to me that you were a wonderful person." She paused, reflecting briefly. "It was actually a coincidence that Dax and I even stopped on your island. I remember that we were travelling through the Baltic Sea and there was a problem with the ship. Once it docked, we decided it would be best if we explored the island to feed, rather than remain with the boat." She looked at me with such pride in her eyes. "It was the best decision that we ever made."
Evie rose from her chair and continued to relive the story that brought her and Dax to find me. "I remember stumbling upon your little village and seeing all the hardworking people, and the sense of community. As we watched from afar, I told Dax that I only wanted to have a small clan so that we would always remain as close as the people we saw there."
"I've always wondered why you created so few vampires for your clan." I had never asked, mainly because I thought it would be rude, but apparently she had gotten her wish. Our small clan had always been happy...until now.
"We watched your village for several days and fed only when someone woul
d head to the stream for water. Dax had dug out a burrow that provided us safety while we slept, but then one day, we awoke to screams."
I knew the day she was referring to; it was the last and first day of my life.
"The crew of the boat had discovered your village. When we reached them, they had already started to plunder and pillage. I remember seeing you fighting so fiercely to protect that young girl. Dax and I fought off everyone we could while trying to not frighten your townsfolk, but by the time we reached you, you had been stabbed through." Evie had circled behind me and now rested her hands on my shoulders. "There was no way I could let you die. Not after seeing what a wonderful person you were. So helpful to your village, such a hard worker, and an amazing fighter. I knew in that instant that you would become my son. My first vampire son."
