by John Falin
I interrupt. “Sure, a scent is actually a detection of molecules that we all exude…”
He volleys. “And within those tiny molecules is the DNA that makes each of us unique. Very good. For the most powerful of our species, and for humans, there seems to be a genetic marker or a warning signal buried in the complexities of DNA that we are sensitive to through smell.”
I interrupt. “So somewhere throughout our evolutionary history, it became an advantage to recognize these special creatures, which could potentially ensure survival either through avoidance, friendship, or mating. Does that sound about right?”
“Yes, you are correct.”
“Have we found the actual gene that creates this scent?”
“I’m afraid not. The Human Genome Project mapped out the human genes years ago and there are rumors that the vampires have emulated that with our DNA as well, but it is extremely sophisticated and locating the genetic variance would be like finding the proverbial needle in a haystack.”
“That leads me back to the original statement. Why are you not a memory for me?”
He breathes through his oversized nose with sadness. “I do not possess the variant DNA. That is why Caedmon challenges me after only a century or so of my position as Alpha. One becomes an Alpha by challenge or by appointment by the existing Alpha. Our previous pack leader chose me as his successor because of my knowledge of the events, which are unraveling now. He commanded that the story I am going to weave for you be kept confidential until such a time as this.”
Percy interjects. “Before you begin, I think it is important that you are aware that there is more to Adriel than what was seen this evening. He is changing rapidly, as we witnessed earlier with the electricity, but also last night he seemed to control the wind.”
I say, “I didn’t know you saw that.”
“Were it not for that diversion, Abram would have killed me.” She turns back to Quilici. “Can you explain what is happening to him? Then we will need to discuss what is happening to me as well.” She runs her fingers through her white streak of hair.
“I have pondered that for a couple of hours, but before we begin to speculate, because that is all we can do, I think I need to fill in the gaps, as they say, for both of you.” He shifts his eyes to me. “Adriel, what did Cassius share with you? No details please, just an overview.”
“Anu was the first of our kind due to the assimilation of blood-water and humans. There was a Blood War and two groups survived, then separated; one relocated into the forests, becoming what you are, and the other remained in the caves, evolving into what Percy is.”
Quilici continues the story. “All that he said was truth, although only a portion of it. Please allow me to go back a few years to 1353 AD in Rome, Italy. The Black Death had been killing its way through Europe for six years, reducing the world’s population by about 100 million humans. It was due in large part to the plague that we were able to feed without detection for so long because of the mass graves and low life expectancy. In spite of that, our food source was plentiful, so there was very little competition, as the population of humans was still abundant. The Black Death coupled with their ceaseless wars ironically created a more peaceful atmosphere between the waers and vampires. It was well timed. Our kind had been at war for millennia over territory disputes or feeding grounds, which, in turn, led to casualties, diminishing our species to a very small number. So the leader of the vampires, a particularly beautiful and intelligent female called Lucretia, began to formulate a strategy to ensure both of our kinds, not just survived, but prospered. It was difficult overcoming thousands of years of compounding distrust, but she was a very willful vampire and forced it to work. In fact, I understand that she may have been even more willful than you, Adriel.” He and Percy snicker at my expense. “Our pack leader and my mentor, Felix, had several meetings and negotiations with Lucretia, which resulted in a treaty that, until recently, had been honored. Cassius was on the council at that point and actually helped negotiate some of the more problematic subjects. For the sake of time, I will leave the particulars of the treaty and concentrate on Cassius and his role, which resulted in the greatest discovery since our kind began.
“Cassius was already well known throughout the world for his ambition and that he accumulated secrets on all current and future council members. He would have been comparable to your American Joseph McCarthy, who held confidential information on everyone, using it to his advantage by leveraging and blackmail. He was also quite the scholar, as you most likely know, collecting rare books and learning all there was to know about humans and our kind as well. He was quite aware that information was powerful and that it would provide him the avenue to attain his position as leader and then sustain it.
“It was during that time in Rome when the treaty was drafted and accepted that Cassius could roam free without fearing the waers on his private quest to locate obscure books or information. One evening in Venice, he was perusing one of the local church libraries and stumbled upon a book that mentioned Anu, the Sumerian god, but this book was different from the typical mythology handed down from generations of oral traditions and semi-literate writers. It spoke of a diary of sorts, a book of Knosis written by the mythological god himself. The church had apparently discovered this book in the 2nd century AD, and with no regard for history or tolerance of different opinion, promptly misplaced it somewhere in a church on the outskirts of Rome.”
I interrupt like an excited school kid. “He had that book in his office.”
“Yes, he always keeps that one accessible to others for study, if needed. That particular church was within the agreed upon feeding boundary of the waers, so Cassius had to meet with Lucretia and convince her, through his vast collection of her indiscretions, I’m sure, that it was in their best interest to find the Knosis. She, in turn, struck a deal with Felix that was neither simple, nor expeditious, but after months of anticipation, he was rewarded with an understanding that allowed for Cassius to be accompanied by one vampire while the waers would have two as well to make certain there was no alternate plan.”
I say, “Alternate plan, ya think?”
He relents. “Your remark is noted. There was a treaty, but that did not eliminate our innate suspicions of each other. The temporary easement was granted. Cassius chose Gisella as his partner.” He settles back into the recliner with a deep sigh, hands clasped behind his neck, and goes on, “Such a beautiful name for a ruthless killer. She was deadly perfection and terrorized our kind for nearly a thousand years until the burn took her from us.”
Percy, inquiring, says, “Was there more to that story?”
His smile dissipates slightly into a regretful frown. “She was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen, and for a young one as I was, she left an indelible mark. We were lovers fueled by the fires of passion and mystery, but as you know, those torrid affairs blaze with such intensity that all are consumed.” He rolls his head forward in painful memories, stalling for a moment, then lifts his gaze to meet me. My eyes are darting back and forth in deep thought and he interjects. “Adriel, I see where you are going and I believe that I have inadvertently jumped several pages of the story. There is no doubt that you have a shared lineage, but we do not have those answers.”
I stop the search and lock on him. “Were you able to have children or young ones, as you call them?”
Percy lets out a muffled gasp, as she can’t hide her surprise, and he answers, “To put it simply, no. There has never been a cross species between waer and vampire due to some natural rejection. We are not really that different from a genetic perspective, but our chromosomes will not mingle.” Percy and I are on the edge of our seats and he says, “Please, allow me to continue. I promise we will address your questions.” Both of us let out a breath that neither of us was aware we were holding and marginally relax, but still tenuously cling to anticipation. “The Knosis was hidden in the Church of Giovanni a Mare in Gaeta, which was a sea town south of R
ome, but north of Naples. Humans at that time were very superstitious, readily assigning satanic labels or supernatural attributes to anyone who presented themselves out of the ordinary, so we thought it best to meet on the beach of the Gulf of Gaeta, hinging near the town borders. It was several hours after sunset when we arrived, and without electricity, the town drifted quietly into sleep early in the night, allowing us the time to investigate the church undisturbed.
“The priest must have had a particularly long day, as he left the candles burning from what appeared to have been a late Eucharist or ritual and a sputtering fire struggling to maintain its life to heat the room. The church was an interesting fusion of old architectural styles that accentuated the gothic entrance and domed roof, but the hidden beauty lay within as gold and wood collided with animated shadows cast by the candles. In the covenant between Lucretia and Felix, it was negotiated to allow the waers to analyze and read the book first since it was obvious that Cassius’s intentions were insidious. I was chosen for that task because of my love of books and history, with my warrior pack-mate Demetrio guarding our interests. With our preternatural speed, the book was located by Gisella soon after our entrance on a top shelf, dusty and stiff from centuries of neglect. I vividly recall Cassius masking his excitement with ambivalent disinterest, but all of us were quite conscious of the book’s importance. Although we did not know the content, we knew that he would not make such great effort without great reason.
“With hesitation and slighted looks, she relented, handing the Knosis to me and I promptly sat down at an old wooden church bench, whispering my prayerful thank yous for such an opportunity. Of course, you realize that my prayers were merely thoughtful expressions aimed at no one in particular, but I was thankful nonetheless. I read what Cassius currently teaches his tribes of our ancient ancestor called Anu and his metamorphosis, the Blood War, and the departure and evolution of the waers and vampires. Yet, there was one more of our kind also described in the book that has been kept an institutional secret that only the four of us at the church, our respective leaders, Bryn, and I suspect Seth have been privy to.”
This agitates Percy and she remarks, “How can this be? How could I have been with you and Bryn for so long without this knowledge?” I could tell that she was hurt from the apparent distrust more than offended that they had a secret.
Quilici senses that as well. “You were already tortured and, in time, unofficially ostracized from the Council due to your actions the night of his birth.” He points to me. “We could not risk Cassius extracting this truth from you and Bryn would not bear your death at Cassius’s hands.” The sting of the offense was bated by Bryn’s concern, so she let it float away with her exhale.
After a soothing exercise, she responds, “You’re right, of course. It would have been poor strategic planning to freely give information to those who did not need to know, but I am intimately involved and withholding the information affected me. I do not appreciate being played as the pawn, and from this point forward, I will require your word that I will have access to all pertinent data.” I don’t say a word to interrupt this demand, knowing that she is deadly serious and her wrath is not something to be toyed with.
“You have my word, Percy. Our friendship has always been important to me, but as you mentioned, this could have cost you your life and may still.”
I say to get us back on track, “What was the other species?”
“There was a second group, if you will, that left the sanctuary of the caves to the vampires in a quest to find escape from the useless wars and bickering caused by the cave-dwellers. They were similar to the waers in that they sought isolation under the protective canopies of mature trees deep in the forests that were beginning to reclaim the earth. This group split from the future waers in a long and arduous journey south to discover a warmer atmosphere that would accommodate abundant life.
“The Knosis stated that as time passed these cousins learned to meditate and subdue the hunger that plagues our kind to this day, but it did not happen through self-control. Every evening they would gather in a circle, stretching their hands and fingers to touch the other next to them in an attempt to connect and explore the parameters of their mutation.”
I interrupt. “So, did they start the ‘60s’ revolution?”
“Adriel, please. This is serious.” I shrug a nonverbal sorry and he continues,. “It was during one of those episodes that one of them released his touch, yet the presence did not fade. It was as if they were still physically connected, but were not. The others caught on quickly and it is unclear, but later they apparently learned to absorb the nutrients found in blood from sentient creatures without killing them.”
Percy says, “I don’t quite understand.”
He rewinds and rethinks the approach, as any effective teacher would, and says, “Well, the Knosis was written by a powerful man, but he was only as scientifically advanced as his culture. So, the explanations were primitive because the world understood the universe through myth and magic. He thought they drained the life from the blood of animals and humans without killing or touching them, and as they learned to perfect this craft, it was soon discovered that they could also draw on the natural forces of wind, water, and lightning, or as they wrote ‘fire from the heavens.’
“The latter talents were mostly rudimentary; they only had minor effects on the weather, such as a sprinkle on a hot day, a gentle breeze, or using a tree as a lightning rod. However, there were small hints saying that one or two of the most powerful had manipulated lightning and rain.
“In a modern explanation, without having any evidence or subject to actually study, I think they operated on a subatomic level. We now know that everything is connected and that all of us are made from the same materials of matter and that we constantly are exchanging those atoms. For instance, 95% of our atoms will detach from us every year and move on to become a part of something or someone else. So, they somehow physically understood this, learned to control it, and drew in the necessary chemicals from blood that were required for survival, eventually attracting electrons to move air, water, and catch the attention of lightning.” I give him my best skeptical look to express my cynicism. “I understand your reservations, but I have no other way of coherently explaining how they do it without one of them present.”
Percy buys into the story, but I reply with a touch of acrimony. “So, Quilici, to paraphrase what we have learned thus far, they are cousins of ours that have kept their presence a secret to every human, vamp, and waer on the planet, other than your little conspiracy team, that is, for thousands of years and they can control the elements with their minds?” I stop and start quickly, adding, “Not to mention they suck the life out of humans and animals through subatomic displacement.” I end the sentence, trying to wrap my mind around it, but it is so difficult to believe in a world of fact and science.
He senses my struggle and says, “Yes, that is fantastical, but true.” He shifts to Percy. “Your evidence is sitting here questioning the absurdity of it all.” Now that caught my attention because innately I know that I have indeed drawn electricity and moved the wind. His point was made. “They have been called many names through the millennia, but are known as the fae.”
I spit out, “You mean fairies?”
“Yes, that is a more recent extension of the name.”
“Okay, wait a minute. You get to be the badass werewolf, Percy is a bloodthirsty seductress, and I get to prance around in the woods in a ballerina outfit?” Even he smiles at that one.
“If that is what you wish, I will not stop you,” he says with equal wit and the laughter reverses in an uneasy shift to my direction. “They are not small, impish creatures that sprinkle dust on bright flowers, although they have been known to appreciate nature. They were the witches and mages feared throughout the ages for their elemental control and sorceries. They were the elves of mythology: lean, beautiful, and violently protecting the earth, yet seeking harmony with all. Anu
wrote of their power and gentleness as they evolved.
“He described them as taller than mankind, but less stocky, which most likely happened as the oxygen-rich jungles fed their systems, but atrophied from the absence of hunting. I believe that the absorption process also stripped their hair of pigment.
“The only picture found of them had a woman with your color hair. Their eyes mutated to the darkest black, which gave a contrasted appearance of obsidian burrowed into ivory. Percy can attest to this, having direct experience with one of them.”
He stops out of respect, permitting her time to respond, and she refuses, motioning him to go on. “Anu said that their unique feeding mechanism prolonged their lives by centuries, enabling them to live around 2,000 years, but like the vampires, nature is not kind to that direct affront and is intent on eliminating their species by sterility. He mentioned that very few were born and I speculate that it has only progressed in that direction, making Adriel a very special young one indeed.
“Well, to continue the story. I was obviously flabbergasted at the new revelation and Cassius snatched the Knosis from my quivering hands when he noticed that my reading was complete. He voraciously consumed the content, slowing down in sections that primarily dealt with the fae, giving me some indication that he was dimly aware of our history, but ignorant of theirs.
“After another hour or so of Cassius memorizing certain sections, our primal instincts were urging us to find shelter and rest, indicating that the dawn was near. He was anxiously sitting upright on the bench with Gisella listlessly writhing through pews and chairs while Demetrio and I stilled our focus to make sure Cassius did nothing inappropriate. Of course, we were not focused enough. When he finally completed the exhaustive read, which just happened to be timed perfectly with the imminent sunrise, he sifted through several pages until the fae chapters were neatly pinched between his thumb and index finger. I remember looking at him as he smiled, and I knew… I knew he was hinting at treachery, but for some reason the moment became surreal and my reaction sluggish as he ripped the pages from the book and promptly threw them in the fire. Demetrio recovered quickly and jumped at him with ferocious speed, but Gisella flanked him, drawing her sword with careful precision against his massive throat and the flames engulfed the old, dried parchment in mere seconds, incinerating all evidence of the fae.
