A Cursed Life - 6. Chapter 6

There was very little chatter as we traveled. This was accompanied by the skillful silence of my captors. In fact, so silent were their movements in general that even with my inhuman senses I would often lose sight of the fact that there were so many people around me. The harsh silence was accented by the cold of the night air as it clung to my skin. My discomfort didn't help much, hanging upside down from a log, blindfolded and gagged; I was completely vulnerable. My mind was still a jumble of random thoughts and a fading panic that was quickly being replaced with dread.

They let my body hang limp as they carried the log and me with it. This made any effort on my part to make things more difficult for them completely futile. In this position bound to the log I could do little more than sway and buck. Neither of which deterred them in the least. It became obvious that they were experienced and efficient in moving the bodies of their prone victims. We carried on like this for some time, at one point I became aware of us crossing into the thickness of the woods somewhere. My back was being dragged through bushes and over fallen logs and branches. All the while I was totally unaware of Xanthia's situation, though I'm sure it was similar to my own. I could just barely feel her presence through my haze, which was more than I could pick up from our attackers. Still as before I couldn't feel them, could sense nothing from them, even with our current proximity.

After what I could tell was nearly 2 miles of walking I was hoisted up on to the back of a large horse. Thrown across the animal like a satchel of clothing or food, the journey would certainly not be a comfortable one. I could just barely feel the peak of the night come upon us as we traveled, midnightwould be well behind us before we reached our destination. When we did come to a stop I was pulled from the horse and thrown over the shoulder of some large man, assumedly Grafald and carried some distance. We all stopped again briefly and then continued inside. The atmosphere changed around me, I could not see but I knew I was inside.

Having been tossed roughly to the ground, I came to the conclusion that we had in fact arrived at our destination, as it was. As the sack was snatched from my head and the gag removed, the first thing I took notice of was the two dozen or so vampires standing around me. The area we were in was but a medium size room, with no distinguishing features. In fact there was nothing in this room other than the twenty or so men. These men were dressed in a varying degree of armors and cloaks; all brandishing several weapons.

As three of the men stepped forward so did Xavien and Falon, leaving Grafald near the entrance with Xanthia and myself. Xanthia was barely aware of her surroundings at this point but I was more than intrigued by this exchange at the moment to truly be concerned. It seemed these men were stationed here as guards. After a short conversation Xavien moved passed the assembled group and into a smaller door obviously leading into the interior of the compound. I noticed that it seemed Xavien was `allowed' to pass, something that struck me as odd. Was this place not their own? Why stop them here? Why not let them proceed? Looking over my shoulder at the very large and immense looking door I couldn't imagine why so many men would be needed to watch over this particular entrance. From the looks of things, a charging elephant couldn't pass through that door, and even if he did he'd find a small army waiting for him.

Xavien returned rather quickly from behind the small door and rejoined the group. The conversation between Xavien and the other men was a short one and soon they were returning to us and telling Grafald to take us to the council chamber; something that Grafald apparently took offense to.

"What? You can't be serious?"

"Grafald...."

"I've served the council for over 300 years as their Elite solider and was a sentry guard likes these men here for 500 years before that. And I've never even been within a hundred feet of the council chamber doors! And now these two mongrels are going to go before them?

"Grafald!Hold...your... tongue!" Falon obviously felt no better about the situation than the larger man, but he was loyal and respectful of his masters. Xavien stepped a bit closer just then, perhaps to intervene and cool the tempered conversation.

"The council has already been made aware of our return and our situation. Of course they are not happy to hear of our failed attempt at snaring the beast. They requested that the boy be brought to the chamber....he's going to stand before the Calling Eyes"

"What purpose would that serve Xavien? He is here with us, Amon is the one we need found." questioned Falon.

"The elders have ordered him to stand before the Eyes, in the hopes that they can find answers within his mind that I could not. I've explained the...unique nature of his mind to them; they wish to be sure that nothing is being withheld. I advised them against such...extremes but they've made it their will." said Xavien.

"Bring them to the chamber doors Grafald, I'll meet you and the others later after I have word from the elders for our next briefing." stated Falon. The large man grabbed me by the waist and carried me under one arm as he walked over to Xanthia's prone body and put her over his shoulders. The five of us all moved towards the interior doors. From my awkward position I was able to make out 9 or more distinct symbols carved into the door as we passed through it. . As we passed through the large doors I was surprised to feel the cool night air on my skin. Looking outwards I realized that we were indeed outside. We were passing through a large enclosed yard of sorts, very large indeed. Torchlight lit the surrounding areas and danced off the solid stone walls. These walls were amazing in sheer size alone. They must have been over two hundred feet in height. And looking beyond the walls I saw several towers and a few spires in the distance that stood well above these walls. As I lifted my gaze a bit higher I noticed that there were several walkways extending from each wall to it's opposite. There seemed to be at least 3 levels to the surrounding walls which could be reached at different points using these overpasses; a most interesting design.

We were nearly half way into the enclosure when I noticed movement. It was difficult to really focus my sight on anything for to long while being jostled around by Grafald. My curiosity was peeked as I noticed the others were unbothered by this at all. I soon began to take notice of several men moving about the yard in different areas. Some were on the yard floor as we were, walking large dogs. Other were perched along the very tops of the walks keeping a watchful eye. And on the levels connected by the overpasses there were at least 15 men keeping watch over the yard. All of them looked very capable and had a weapon of some kind. Bow and arrows seemed to be the weapon of choice, which was no surprise given their positioning.

In my mind I was keeping a rough count, I'm not sure what the purpose was but I was taught to always take in the details and for whatever the reason the number of guards seemed to be of importance at the moment. Twelve or more at the entrance and nearly twenty men watching the yard, this place was shaping up to be an impenetrable fortress. The irony being that I wanted out, not in. As we made our way past one of the men handling a large dog, the animal began to whimper heavily. From the man's reaction I could assume that this was not normal behavior for one of the dogs. I had little time to question this oddity as we moved through yet another set of doors.

This next room was a direct contrast to the harsh and menacing look of the yard enclosure. We were standing in what looked like a well kept manor. If not for the fact that I'd passed through the entrance and the large yard itself, I may have believed just that. As we entered, the first thing I took notice of was two large sets of stairs at either end of the room. From my position I could make out two different landings leading to different floors. And in front of us a large fire was burning in an old fashioned fire pit that was built into the floor. We had only moved a small ways into this large area when we were joined by two individuals. They came from opposite sides of the room through doors just behind each set of stairs. They approached and met Xavien and Falon in the center of the room.

These individuals wore white robes with black hoods, a most peculiar look. One a man and the other a women. Hanging at Grafalds side, I was able to take notice of a small dagger strapped to the leg of the women through an opening in her robes. I looked to the man expecting to see the same but his robe was tided shut. As I looked him over it was his arms that I took notice of. As he lifted his arms to shake hands with Falon and Xavien, I noticed large bracers on each arm, and a long medal blade running up his forearm from each one. No doubt a weapon of some kind. My attention was immediately shifted to the woman wondering if she was similarly outfitted only to find her arms bare. As she finished greeting Falon and let her hands return to her sides and brushed against her already parted robed and pulled it back just long enough for me to take sight of a very large sword. I instantly wondered if the woman could even wield such a large sword in combat.

"We'll escort your party to the chamber. Grafald, you'll go no further of course, another group is being sent to take care of the woman, we don't want her dying until the elders have decided it be so. This way, The Eyes are already in attendance, be mindful of your thoughts." spoke the woman. As we came to yet another large door I noticed that the frame of this door was a well crafted mixture of silver and gold. There were several engravings in the wood but at the center was a distinct marking. I had little time to look over the designs as I heard the rattle of chains. I noticed the man reach towards several hooks not far from the door, all of which had shackles hanging from them. The man moved towards me and I knew before he spoke that they were meant for me. I raised my hands and allowed him to easily fasten the metal claps around my wrists. I heard a similar sound just behind me that told me Xanthia was given similar treatment. Just then Falon turned to the other set of vampires with Xanthia and nodded towards the end of the hall.

As they began to move off with Xanthia, I opened my mouth to speak but Falon turned his head quickly to my gaze and gave me a look that threatened severe punishment if I spoke out at the moment. One of the large double doors was pushed open slowly, an action that took both of our escorts to accomplish. As we moved inside, the room itself was astonishing, it seemed fit to hold kings and queens. This was no doubt the chamber room of the Elders. Dozen of torches lined the walls of this room and several candle chandeliers hung above our heads. As remarkable as the room was my eyes remained on the floor for the most part.

There were 9 markings engraved into the marble floor of the chamber a few feet away from the throne like chairs that undoubtedly belonged to the elders. As I let me eyes glance at the row of chairs sitting on the elevated area of the room, I noticed each seat had a unique marking engraved at the head area. Similar in design to the ones on the floor, although the floor markings were indeed different, they were all of the same design and style. A large ancient looking T, each line cut to perfection and very precise. All of them were enclosed in a circle. The edges of the T's were designed to look like a blades edge and the shaft to look that of a swords handle. I knew this image was of importance but I had no clue to it's real meaning. As I continued to study these designs I came to realize that they were just big enough for someone to stand on. The elders obviously were not present but the chairs were obviously meant for them so the purpose of the standing marks was a mystery to me. And it didn't seem as though they would be joining us. Xavien moved away from us, and that was when I took notice of two men.

To say they were strange in appearance would be a grave understatement, pale as white sheets, one bald and one with spindly white hair. Both of them were physically no older than twenty, although their skin and mannerism gave off the illusion that they were elderly men. The most striking of their features were their eyes, or the lack of. In place of their eyes were craters, covered in gruesome looking scars. This was something that was obviously not the result of a tragic accident, the scar damage was incredible and the wounds seemed to perhaps have been in place before they were turned. An ailment that the crossover could not rectify, surely the story behind their missing eyes was an intriguing one. At the moment, what these two had to do with me was at the forefront of my mind.

"Let us not delay, the elders will want a report on all of this before sunrise. And Falon, you still need to meet with your men before nights end." spoke our female escort. Falon gave a nod in her direction as she and her partner took hold of me and walked me over to the two blind men. As I grew closer to them I had to look away from their faces, the damage to their eyes was horrible. Being this close I could see that not only had their eyes been removed but there was intense damage to the skull area surrounding the eye sockets as well. It's hard to believe anyone could survive something like that. As I stood there trying my best not to look directly at the odd pair, a separate set of chains running up from the floor were attached to each of my wrists and the original shackles removed. I had a bit more freedom of movement but now was confined to one spot.

In all this time the two had made little to no actual movement and neither had they uttered a single word. So I was more than startled when in complete unison they both tilted their heads to one side in a single sharp movement. I also had the chilling sensation that they were, looking at me. How such a thing could be possible was unknown to me but they both seemed to be focusing directly on me. "Older than...." the bald one began. "...we envisioned" finished his stringy haired counterpart. My focus moved to everyone else in the room, surely they weren't talking to me. And furthermore I gathered they were talking about me. "He is the one..." "...we seek" they continued.

"Excuse me?" I blurted out, surprising myself.

"Child of the beast...." "taken so young"

"His identity was confirmed on site, you have the criteria, carry it out and let's not keep the elders waiting." spoke Xavien. He seemed a bit unnerved being in the presences of these two.

"Yes, a..." "...moment please"

Once again their focus seemed to settle on me, without being able to use their eyes as a sign I could only take note of the subtle shifts in what seemed to be their focus. In a moment a wave of nausea seemed to come over me. In all my years I can only recall being nauseous the time I ventured out to early. I was more than confused at my current state at the moment, in the past only the sun had had such a powerful affect on me. What was the cause now? Trying to clutch at my stomach and place a hand on my head, I was met with the resistance of my chains. Soon I was clutching at my sides and slumped over, broken out in a cold sweat and dry heaving. What was happening to me?

As I fell to me knees and vomited there on the floor before me, the others carried on as though nothing was happening. I was no honored guest to be sure but certainly my current state must at least register with them. Just as I finished with those thoughts several people who were dressed as servants appeared at my side with rags and water. The mess I'd made was cleaned up in a matter of minutes and they disappeared from sight as quickly as they'd come. I didn't have time to question things, I was so dizzy. The nausea had passed but I seemed to be getting worse as time went on. "Broken" they both spoke together. I lifted my head to look in their direction. Several veins had began to move along the sides of their faces, all stemming from their empty eye sockets.

"So much is missing..." "...years of memory gone"

"What...what are you doing to me?" I pleaded. I felt as though my mind was being ripped apart. I could feel them, both of them, shifting through my thoughts and memories as if they were on display in some catalog. Flashes of distant memories as well as experiences from only days ago played out in my head as I was forced to recall and relive them in an instant. I felt as though I was on the edge of snapping in some way. If only they pushed a little further, a little harder. They could break me, I could sense that much.

So many memories, I must have revisited more than a hundred past experiences. Some time after they began I felt a warm liquid begin to slowly spill from my ears. I knew I was bleeding from the ears and that if they didn't stop soon I could be killed or worse. I wasn't sure what they were looking for or even why they were doing any of this. As this torment continued I knew inside, if I knew what they wanted I'd give it to them. I'd do just about anything they asked to make them stop right now. You see reliving memories might not seem so troublesome for most. And while I regret very little in my life, the fact is, my past is filled with centuries of killing and murder. Of all the memories I was forced to relive the worst was that of my first hunt.

1013 B.C

I'd love to say that it took me forever to adjust to the idea of having to kill to survive, that the idea of hunting and bleeding my prey was too much for me to handle. The truth, any hesitation I had was a short lived one. In my past life my people and I hunted to feed ourselves and to feed each other. As a child I had my reservations about killing my first animal but my father walked me through it and told me that it was necessary to feed mother and my brother. It didn't make the killing easier but made me see that it simply had to be. And I found in this life, I was doing no one any favor by starving myself. There would be no spared lives. The thirst was merciless.

The air was still noticeably cool for this time of year, the ground still hard from having been frozen and covered in snow for so long. I had just barely awakened and already I could feel his body pressed up against mine. I'd almost forgotten it was all real, Stephen and I. If master or Xanthia could see us now they'd likely kill us both. A vampire and a human going to bed together, it was enough that I had feelings for a human. Him knowing of my true nature would be too much, I know it. Things have already been so stressful. It's been nearly three month's now, since I was reborn.

I've been consumed with...life, everything is so much more real, so potent and tangible. I feel as though anything is possible for me. Xanthia has been trying to teach me many things in the last few month's most of which she says I will only grasp with time. She's the most patient person I've ever meet. And master is perhaps her polar opposite. The worst is when they focus on my feeding. I've felt it, the urges. Sometimes it's so hard to deny them in the early hours of the night. I know eventually I'll have to feed but...perhaps I'm trying to enjoy this new beginning a while longer. It will only be new once, I've many years of feeding and killing to come. I'm in no rush.

They warn me all the time, I've become obsessed with the young human. That I shouldn't try to make friends with them. That I can't re-immerse myself with them, they are a different species now. Xanthia has sat me down many times to discuss, the danger of denying the thirst. That at it's worst, the thirst could drive me into a feeding binge, making me gorge myself on the blood of every person within reach. My hunger would not know ally from foe or acquaintance from stranger. And yet I know it is not so. For the time being I'm fine, there's no need to ruin such a wonderful experience as this with blood.

It's impossible I know but I'd keep him with me forever if I could. I don't have the skill or the knowledge of how to correctly turn someone. I'd only be bringing him to his death or perhaps creating some zombie like beast. I'd never risk harming him in that way. Stephen is perfect as he is and even though I will out live him and watch him grow old as I remain youthful, I wouldn't change a thing. We first ran into each other in the woods. I spent hours out there each night just taking in everything around me. Xanthia thought it was `cute' the way everything was so new to me. Master thought it a foolish waste.

I smelt him long before I saw him; he carried with him a fresh flowery smell that to this day I can't describe. His hair was falling into his face when I first saw him, he was truly beautiful. On that first encounter I went out of my way to impress him with the things I could perceive and do. I couldn't yet see the thoughts of human minds but I knew he was intrigued. A few weeks later we were meeting there in the woods several times each week. Master and Xanthia knew everything of course. They were always watching me. They said things were at their most delicate while I adapted to the change. It seemed whenever I looked over my shoulder, there they were. And more than a few times I could feel them watching. But I knew they wouldn't interfere while Stephen was there.

We spent so much time there together in those woods, I began trying to teach him different things that I'd learned since my crossover. Some things he could grasp and others were simply impossible for a human to fully understand. We became very close and eventually that closeness gave way to other things. The argument I had with Xanthia the first time she saw us kiss there in those woods was worse than any other disagreement we'd had at that point.

That argument is the reason I'm here tonight. At least the reason I came initially. Spending the previous night with Stephen was amazing. Of all the things I've experienced with my new senses, his body is the most amazing of them all. Sensations like I can't describe ran through me and even now I still shiver. Waking up now this night I can't help but remember those feelings and sensations from the previous night. Master and Xanthia would be beyond furious with me for staying away from our home during the day but a night with my new lover was more than worth it.

I pressed back into his warm body as I let the rigidness fall away as my body came back to life. Confusion washed over at the feel of wet sheets, and then I noticed a strange dried substance all around my mouth. Raising my hands up to wipe away at my mouth as I rolled over I was overcome with shock and horror. Before me was Stephen, dead. His neck gashed horribly, and there was blood everywhere. The look of shock and fear that remained on his face told me died quickly. Only a beast of some kind could kill a person in such a manner. I left his home that night, overcome with grief. I knew instantly what had happened. I showed up on our doorstep covered in blood and was ushered inside. It was the worst feeling in the world to hear Xanthia talk about the situation as though she'd been waiting for it to pass. To this day I've never forgiven myself for the slaying of Stephen. Not a memory I wished to recall.

1350 A.D

"He is a beast of habit, he will return.... "to his old ways, despite his cautions." Still they spoke in those broken sentences and continued to complete them for each other. And I was none the closer to

understandingthem. I was ready to burst and demand they explain things when they continued."

"Always looking for naivety..." "always looking for the dedicated soul."

"Amon will find another..." "twist and break them"

"As he did" "with you."

"What are you talking about?" I questioned them as the pain in my head began to slowly decrease. My head felt heavy and invaded; after you've stabbed someone pulling the blade out doesn't make things any better as far as your victim is concerned. I raised my head to look up at the two strange men as they glared back at me.

"New to this dark life...." " that was forced upon you."

"Beaten and abused...." "Used and raped"

"What...what did you say?"

"Many things from those first months...." "have been blocked out, perhaps for the better" My mind was racing as I tried to discern if they were serious or playing some twisted joke on me. How could they claim to know any of this? How could they stand there and say such things as if there was even a chance that they were true? I know my on thoughts, my own memories. My mind and emotions were going berserk trying to sort things out and I was ready to toss everything they'd said aside as the crazy rambling of two sick individuals when they continued. Only this time when they continued, gone was the broken sentences and no longer did they complete one another's sentences. They began to speak in complete and perfect unison. Their voices melding together as if the odd sound were truly produced by one person. All the while they spoke they motioned their head from one corner of the room to the other. They'd move their heads slowly, also in perfect unison towards one side of the room and as they finished each sentence, they began back in the other direction.

"You were in that dark room for so long, darkness and suffering were all you knew then. And yet it never happened.....His wrath, unpredictable, unprovoked and unending, many nights did you spend healing only to be broken again the next. And this too never happened....Suffocated, burned, hung, stabbed and pierced.... Drowned, buried, poisoned, impaled and fed to dogs. And this too is forgo..."

"Stop it! Stop...."

"Raped" they continued almost as quickly and suddenly as they'd been interrupted. "The words only cause you discomfort because we speak of harmful acts. The real pain was in the acts themselves, without those memories.....

"I SAID STOP!"

"...without those memories you are incomplete. "We will make you see, but first we will make you understand."