Bitter Sweet

by Lennell Davis

  “So if I were to ask you something and you lied about it, all it would take is for me to look into your eyes to know whether or not you're lying?”

  “Yes, but that doesn’t mean I’d have to tell you anything. You would just know I was hiding something.”

  “That sounds like it would be awfully annoying if everyone knew when you were lying.”

  “I told you, it’s not everyone; it’s just you. No vampire has ever found more than one other they share this connection with; it’s even more rare when that other is a human.”

  “What are you getting at?”

  “Nothing…” he sighed. “It’s just that you asked for an explanation.” There was something in his tone that made me think there was more, but he kept his eyes locked on the road so I couldn’t see them. “Can I ask you something?”

  “Me?”

  “You’re the only person in the car.”

  “You don’t have to be mean, it’s just: what would I know that you would want to know?”

  “Well, how did it feel…” he trailed off for a moment.

  “I don’t really know.” I said. For some reason, I was embarrassed so I looked at my feet as I went on. “It was like I had to be near you, but I didn’t know why, or maybe it was just that I wanted to be but couldn’t explain it to myself why.”

  “It’s because if you had gotten closer, I would have told you anything you wanted," he said in a low voice.

  “What did you feel?" I was ignoring what he said. "I thought I had imagined it, but when you told me your name, it felt like you didn’t really want to.”

  “You noticed that? It’s not that I didn’t want to tell you my name, it was more that I shouldn’t. Although I knew if our eyes met again, the need you described would have been stronger if I lied and me getting close to a human is not the best thing for either of us.”

  “Oh.” Vampires… I thought they would be scary, acting more like Jessica and Jordan. Alik seemed thoughtful and sometimes shy like a human. He was silent for another moment; hopefully, this wouldn’t become a habit. I looked over at him; he lightly held the wheel and looked straight out at the cars around us. His expression was one of deep concentration, although I didn’t think it was the road he was focused on.

  The silence wasn’t awkward, but it still didn’t seem like we had a reason to be silent. But if we continued on this subject, something I didn’t seem to consciously want would happen as if some stronger force would take over.

  “How were you created?” I asked to break the silence. I realized that might have been a rude question after voicing it.

  "That’s an interesting question, but what do you mean, like me personally, or do you mean vampire overall?"

  “Let’s go with overall first.”

  "Are you a religious person?"

  "Religious?"

  "Do you believe in a God?"

  "No, nothing I’ve seen has shown me Gods exist or at least the main stream description of God."

  "Do you know the general biblical creation story?"

  "Yes, seven days, let there be light, and all that."

  "Yeah, well we vampire have a pseudo-religion that is very much like that story. It’s possible that that story was spawned from the one I will tell you or vice versa.”

  “A story?” I asked confused.

  Alyon Alik

  Chapter 13.0

  “The Elders like to believe that they were created by Lucifer’s lover in an experiment of the first ever vampire.”

  I felt Vanessa give me a look like I was now just that much crazier in her eyes.

  “Well, Lucifer once lived in Heaven as the most beautiful of the angels. His looks and status within the realm of heaven over time began to change Lucifer into a far darker creature than the pure god-loving angels. His arrogance grew to the point where he believed he and not God should rule Heaven and began to form an army of his fellow angels spreading his dark mistrust and hate of God. Lucifer confronted God and simply lost the battle, lost his wings, and was cast into a pit within the earth below. The highest punishment and deepest agony for an angel was to lose their wings and no longer be able to soar in the Heavens freely. Despite this, God’s mercy extended allowing Lucifer and his followers to live.

  The more time his feet were planted in the pits of hell, the more Lucifer’s anger began to boil within. His fallen angels, who also lost their beautiful wings in the fires beneath the earth, cast off their heavenly forms in a final act of defiance, mocking God and becoming creatures of fire and darkness more beautiful than his precious angels. The name angel no longer felt suitable, therefore they warped and stretched the definitions of the name to form the new race of the demon. With a new name, the pain of not flying no longer affected the demon and they became acquainted with their new home and set to finding a way out and possible revenge. Centuries passed in the blink of an eye, but after many experiments that granted the demon powers they never knew they were capable of as angels, a means of escape was found. The surface of the earth broke with the sound of exploding volcanoes, and from the pit, Lucifer stepped to marvel at what had become of the surface of his prison.

  The Earth no longer looked like the inside of his prison, it instead was covered in a massive lush garden, spreading as far as the eye could see. The beauty of the garden overwhelmed him and he fell to his knees. All around him the animals that populated the garden began to draw closer and explore this new creature in their midst.

  As Lucifer stood and took his first steps on the alien world, Adam, the first human male, walked by. Lucifer had never seen a human before; he was surrounded by his demon followers so long that this creature who resembled his enemy, God, sparked anger within him.”

  "Wait... Man looked like God?" Vanessa cut me off.

  "Man was created in God’s image; the Bible, the Torah, and Koran all says so. Although I doubt that; I think that’s just man’s way of trying to be more God-like,” I told her going on with the story. "As Lucifer moved in closer to strike, he caught sight of Eve walking besides Adam. Lucifer was mystified by her radiant beauty, a beauty he felt rivaled his own. He had to get a closer look; one creature in particular had taken a special liking to Lucifer and it only felt natural to touch the snake and use its body for his own. In his new body, he approached and even touched Eve, feeling her soft skin on his scales. Fascinated, he stayed close to Eve and from time to time, would hear God talking to her and Adam. He learned of the tree of forbidden fruit and the many wonders that have been built into the garden. Lucifer quickly realized the overwhelming temptation that the tree posed for Eve, and in that, his plan to take Eve as his own was created.

  Lucifer knew that even if he was to reveal his true, beautiful form, Eve would not fall into his arms. She was too loyal to her God. Until God crossed Eve, she would never be his. Lucifer sweet talked Eve, whispering into her ear as she slept, he told her of all the wonders that would come from just one bite of an apple on the tree of forbidden fruit. The next day, when she awoke, she snuck away from Adam to the tree with the snake close behind her. Eve plucked an apple from the tree and it shined a beautiful red and smelled so sweet. She raised it to her mouth and with her first bite, she felt a rush of pleasure and moaned. Then all pleasure was ripped from her and she fell over as if she had been kicked hard in the stomach. As if some invisible hands had grabbed her, she was pulled along the ground and screamed for Adam. Quickly, Adam caught up to her and tried to pull her back, but as soon as he touched her, his eyes widened and he let go in shock.”

  "Shock?" Vanessa cut in.

  "Well, temptation wasn't really in the human mind at this point. It’s just very hard to describe what Lucifer was really thinking, expression and language have evolved so much it doesn’t really make sense anymore. Eve was completely innocent of anything we would consider sinful. When Adam touched her, he saw Eve no longer as a friend, but as a woman. They were both naked and the attraction he felt for her was so new and strong that it scared him."
/>
  "I didn’t think of it that way."

  I kept going. “As soon as they crossed the threshold of the garden, the angels and chains that held Eve became visible and Lucifer was there, just waiting outside of the garden. He killed the angels, trying to be the champion that Eve needed in her darkest hour. He helped Eve to her feet and Eve ran from Lucifer at first, trying to get back into the garden. That hurt Lucifer, who in his head had this planned out to be their joining moment. Eve slammed into a wall, frantically screaming and beating on the wall, crying. At first, she fought Lucifer who was trying to comfort her, taking the cloak from his back and wrapping her cold body in it. She fell to her knees and cried and he just sat there with her until she got a hold on herself. Once she stopped crying, he lifted her back up, knelt before her asking her to be his queen, promising to love her more than her God ever could. Lucifer took his queen back into hell where Eve flourished. Eve was especially adept in the fighting arts she learned from the demons, even creating her own styles and techniques. They began to create a grand army, both wishing to avenge themselves on a God who cast them from their homes. Time was irrelevant to Lucifer and the demon who were immortal outside of battle.”

  "Immortal outside of battle? What does that mean,” Vanessa asked.

  "They would not die due to sickness or age, but if they were cut down in battle, then they would be as mortal as any other. It was the price for any being of heaven or hell to lower themselves to settle a dispute in such a manner as blades and other weapons and not the divine powers the realms of Heaven and Hell gave."

  "Then Lucifer made his army weaker by exposing them to Eve's talents?"

  "Yes, but God did the same with the angels who watched over the garden. With Eve gone and Adam awakened from his innocence, he was given a new companion and together they began to populate the garden with children and the few others God created."

  "Adam and Eve were not the only ones?"

  "Not according to this story."

  "Why?" Vanessa asked. She was more into this story than I thought. She didn’t care that this story could be completely made up, but I guess from her perspective it was interesting.

  "Same reason you don’t have kids with a brother I'd guess. It would cause abnormalities. Anyway... The adult humans that God created and the children born in the garden aged differently. Adam, who had been in the garden for years with Eve, already began to slow down and one day laid down and died in his sleep. Lucifer had been watching Adam very closely as he noticed a lot of this in his queen. Lucifer knew that his bride was a creation of God and assumed her lifespan was the same as his. It wasn’t until he felt Adam’s death that he realized that humans had an unknown expiration date. He went to the surface and saw as the women of The Garden laid his body to rest in the earth. Lucifer began to fear that this would happen to his queen, as Eve also grew older. He watched as the women cried over Adam's grave and then one by one left. When it was clear Adam was dead, Lucifer stole his body. For three days, Lucifer stood over Adam’s body trying to figure out what had happened to him, and with every passing second, he learned nothing other than that Adam was not warm and that there was no sound coming from his chest." I saw the question on Vanessa's lips and answered before she could say it. "His heart wasn’t beating."

  "Oh," she said.

  "On the third day, however, Adam sat up..."

  "He sat up?!" she blurted.

  “Not his body, his soul sat up. Adam's soul looked around and upon seeing Lucifer, the soul opened its mouth to scream in horror, but no sound came out. Lucifer grabbed for Adam's soul and was pushed back across the room, but Adam's soul didn’t move. Instead, it curled in on itself to become a misty gray orb. Lucifer tried again, successfully grabbing the orb that fought his hold, but eventually submitted to his will. The power the orb gave off felt so similar to his own power, but he couldn't figure out where he had felt it. He thought on it until it made him angry and he lashed out, sending energy all around the room, destroying Adam's physical body and anything else inside it except for the orb. The energy that had nowhere to go attacked its master and while Lucifer was able to stop it, he was cut across the face and body and his blood hit the orb."

  "I knew there would be blood, but go on.”

  “Blood is our life source; it’s what creates us and lets us exist.”

  “Create and exist? Not born and live?”

  “In most aspect of the word life, I am alive. However, we cannot give birth; we do not need to breathe, sleep, or eat. Ingesting blood is just the easiest way to get it into our bodies where it travels by osmosis, not a pumping heart. Nor do we die outside of battle. We must create vampire through the transfer of blood. So vampire existing seems more accurate than vampire living.”

  “You seem alive enough to me.” I looked at her for a moment while still doing eighty on a freeway and smiled. “What are you doing? Watch the road,” she said, embarrassed, and I was silent again. “Well, go on, finish the story.”

  “Lucifer’s blood did something to the soul. It uncurled to become Adam again and it looked around for its body. When it couldn't find it, it turned on Lucifer and attacked. Adam snapped at Lucifer as he tried to kill him and claim his body. Lucifer kicked Adam off and with a vicious attack from the blade Lucifer wore at his side, the soul dissipated into mist that fell to the ground and vanished. Adam's soul was powerful but still no match for Lucifer, but more so than when it was alive. What was important in all this was that Lucifer caught how Adam looked for his body wanting to live again. He thought that if he could get his blood into Eve, her body, her soul, would never let go and she would live forever. He rushed to find so much time had passed by and Eve now lay on her deathbed; her hair had grown white, her skin blotchy, and her eyes cloudy. He made a small cut in his neck for her to drink. She drank as much of Lucifer’s blood as she could. He knelt next to her and she looked at him, placing a weak hand on his face and he smiled. A tear slipped from his eye to land on Eve's arm and she smiled. It had been the first time he had ever cried and when he saw the tear he quickly wiped his eyes and pulled the blade from his side and ran it along the side of his neck. Blood began to flow and he raised Eve to the cut, asking her to drink again and she did. At first slowly, but as the seconds passed, she grew stronger and began to suck more and more from Lucifer until he had to pull her from him. Eve screamed when she hit the bed and writhed in pain."

  "Does it hurt?" she asked softly.

  "Does what hurt?"

  "Becoming a vampire..." she asked even softer.

  "Not in the sense in this story. What’s most painful is getting used to your new senses. The sunlight will burn your eyes for a long time, and the noise is deafening until you can get control of what you want to hear, smells will make you sick, and you can taste everything around you in the air." Again, I answered the look on her face before she could ask the question. "You learn to numb it all without thinking about it, but becoming vampire in a city isn’t recommended, it can drive you crazy."

  "Oh... Well, go on. What happened to Eve?"

  “Lucifer never left her side once throughout her change, but as she was lying there in pain, her body grew younger: her hair returned to its former color and her strength increased to where Lucifer himself had trouble controlling her fits. When she finally opened her eyes, they had grown black from the years of non-use. She turned to look at him and the black of her eyes broke, revealing jade green irises that seemed to glow from within. Lucifer unveiled his queen Aaliyah, as she now wished to be called, to their demon army. The demon all cheered, causing the earth to rumble. At this time, he decided it was their time to strike God down for casting all who he reigned over into hell. Yet as he grew ready for battle, he grew hesitant for what lay ahead, he raised a hand to his eye and felt a tear slip and remembered how close he had come to losing Aaliyah. What if he lost; his queen would be placed in great danger fighting with him. He went to her and told her of his worries; she dismissed them as childish and weak,
waving Lucifer off. Lucifer thought her new power had gone to her head, she had never fought the armies of God. He felt the anger she held toward God for casting her out of the garden as he had. They argued and Lucifer was going to call off the battle. As he turned to leave the room, she attacked him. Aaliyah managed to pull his sword from his side and break one of his arms. She then dragged him from Hell as she had been pulled from Eden and tossed him onto the earth, casting him out of his own kingdom. Lucifer knew she would die in the attack if she faced God alone. He couldn't bare it if she were to die hating him.”

  "How strong was Aaliyah?"

  "She best Lucifer and he was supposed to be a being of power to rival God. God is supposed to be all powerful. I don’t know how else to describe it. Anyway, Lucifer went to God on hand and knee and told him what he had done. God listened to Lucifer in silent anger as he told him of how he had tainted the people he created and loved. God agreed to help Lucifer; afterward they would settle their differences over Eve’s betrayal. They would seal her away and hope that one day she would be able to forgive them both. Lucifer would have to call off this attack and never tamper with the humans again. Lucifer agreed. Already broken, he crawled back to Aaliyah and threw himself before her, confessing how wrong he was for what he had said. She welcomed him with opened arms, as she did still love him no matter how much it pained her to attack him as she did. When they hugged, God attacked her, binding her arms and legs. Lucifer then helped to strengthen the bindings with a set of his own. She cursed and screamed insults at them and both, Lucifer couldn't look her in the eye as they sealed her in a golden box that they placed deep in the earth, a single angel was charged with the protection of the box as God did not believe Lucifer could be completely trusted to keep Aaliyah sealed. To this day, the Angel Pandora still guards the tomb of Aaliyah somewhere under the earth.”