Blood of Innocents

May- 3:52pm

We ventured further down the single, fairly narrow tunnel, the torches places at regular intervals lighting out path. On the odd occasion there was another tunnel branching off of this one, but we never turned down any of them. My feeling of foreboding magnified the further we went, surrounding me like a dense fog.
We came to a point where the tunnel widened, stretching out into a small chamber, four torches spaced out throughout the room. He stopped, glaring at the darkened space at the back of the chamber. I narrowed my eyes, trying to see through the black my all too human eyes couldn't penetrate.
A man stepped forward into the light, and I could tell why Sven had been glaring. He was around the same height as Sven, tall and burly, with pronounced muscles, blocky shoulders and high cheekbones. He had a hand wrapped around the hilt of his sheathed shortsword, the leather sheath itself sitting on his right hip. He had a guarded expression on his stony face, glancing down at me.
"I wish to consult the Kings and council about her," Sven said formally, his voice flat and emotionless, nodding his head in a gesture at me. The man deliberated this for a brief moment, glancing at me again before fixing his gaze on the vampire next to me.
"Come," he mumbled gruffly, his voice still inhumanly clear despite his low tone.
Nodding for me to follow, he walked after the burly man ahead of us, and I fell into step beside him. I fidgeted as we made our way down another, slightly wider tunnel, anxious now that we were here, on our way to see the group of vampires that would decide my fate.
The tunnel widened again into another chamber, this one much larger and more well-lit than the last. A few vampires walked through the chamber here and there, and it gave me the feeling that this was a communal place. A few of them glanced at us, and one woman even paused briefly, but they kept walking as though nothing was different.
The man guiding us took us straight through to another short -much wider yet nowhere near as long- passageway, a brief exchange with two others dressed in much the same way -I realized they were guards of some sort- and we walked in. This passage wasn't lit, but it was short enough that the light from either end was enough for me see by.
The room we came out into was huge, cavernous, bigger than my house even, the space well-lit by the large, medieval-style torches evenly spaced around the room, on the wall and along the isle that ran down the middle. There were rows of stone benches neatly aligned in two columns either side. Up the front was a raised platform going about a metre from ground level, four ornate chairs sitting atop it, three of them occupied by elderly vampires I guess were the Kings. There was maybe fifty to sixty people sitting on the benches, spread out around the spacious chamber.
We were led straight down the middle, the guard not faltering as he led us to the front. A few of the crowd turned their heads to look at us, their conversations dying to soft murmurs. I lowered my head, my fringe falling over my eyes, feeling a little embarrassed and worried. I felt Sven's hand brush lightly against mine, and I glanced up at him to see his brief flash of a reassuring smile.
We stopped, having come to the front to stand a couple of metres from the raised platform, the guard moving to stand to the side. One of the three men on the exquisite throne-like chairs waved a hand, and the room the silent. He gave a small smile, looking straight at Sven.
"We have been expecting you, brother," the man said smoothly, his voice lined with age and wisdom.
"I noticed." Sven's voice was blank and flat, his face serious. "You also know why, I assume?”
“That we do,” a second of the Kings put in, sounding impatient and gaining himself a slightly stern look from the first. “Get on with it, then.”
“Now, now, Argus. Patience. My dear friend, what brings you here before us?”
“I have come to seek... permission, Ulysses, if you are willing to hear me out.” All three Kings nodded, and he began to explain.
“This girl has been in an attack led by Forza. All others involved have had their memories of it taken, of course, but for some reason I had to do hers personally. I was interrupted by sudden knowledge, and she still had her memories. I decided I'd give her the choice to become one of us, which she willingly took. I present her to you to ask if-”
“No.”
The third man’s voice cut him off, stern and icy. Sven looked taken aback, and I just stood there dumbfounded.
“Why are you so quick to jump to a verdict?” Sven asked, tensing a little.
“The answer is no, Sven. We will not-”
“-Speak on others' behalf without their permission,” Ulysses cut in. “I am content to hear you out, but my brother does not appear to feel the same way. Argus?”
“I'll listen if I think it rational,” Argus said dismissively, his eyes meeting mine for a brief instant. Ulysses nodded, then looked to his other side where the third King sat.
“And you, Dmitri?” Dmitri crossed his arms, scoffing and looking away, then he considered it. He cussed in a language I'd never heard.
“Fine. But do not expect me to accept your request,” he growled, glaring at Sven, who simply nodded a thanks.
“Interruption's over. Do continue,” Argus sighed, clearly bored of this.
“My thanks. As I was saying, I have come to ask if I have your permission to change the child.”
The Kings all glanced at each other, Argus whispering a question that got appreciative nods in response.
“Argus has a good point,” Dmitri said icily. “Do tell us- what is your name, girl?”
“...Alice,” I said softly, though everyone heard my quiet voice. The room burst into dim noise, some excited, some worried and others just curious.
“Peace,” Ulysses commanded gently, and it fell silent again. He put a hand thoughtfully to his chin, scratching his pale goatee. “This is most intriguing. Is she...?”
“One and the same,” Sven replied.
I was more confused than I had been before. Was there something about my name? Or me? They were talking about me being something... But what was I?
“And she does not know?”
“No.”
“I see. I will consult my brethren.”
The three of them began talking among themselves, the discussion quickly turning into an argument. Sven sighed softly, shaking his head.
“Is there something wrong with me?” I asked quietly, brushing my brown hair out of my eyes.
“Well, it isn't you personally.” I frowned.
“What do you mean?”
“Brothers and sisters! We have come to a conclusion,” Ulysses called out, and silence fell once again, everybody looking to the Kings.
“My brothers? The verdict?” Sven asked after a brief pause, tense.
“Take her home. Erase her memories of us.”
A few gasps, the room erupting into noise. Sven clenched his hands into fists, clearly angry at this decision. I was a little like that as well- we'd come all this way, all that time wasted, and for what? Just to be denied and sent home?
“Ridicule! You know who she is, what she can do, how she can help us. Why has she not been granted freedom of choice?”
“We cannot risk her joining the Forza! If she does, it will only be a matter of time before we get obliterated. We are struggling as it is.” Dmitri's voice was like venom to my ears.
“You know what the prophecy says! We're more likely to fall if we don't have her.”
“What prophecy?” I asked, confused.
“Silence, child!” Dmitri boomed, and I was instantly quiet, terrified of what an angry vampire could do. “The threat is far too great to risk. I refuse to allow compromise on this matter.”
“I say we give her the one moon observance test,” Argus mumbled boredly. “If we think her suitable then, we will give her a trial.”
“Even one thousand moons could not change my mind,” Dmitri hissed.
“Peace, friends,” Ulysses said calmly. “I agree with Argus. She is to be kept here for one full month, thirty days, during which we will observe her actions, choices, her strength of spirit. If we find her suitable after this period, we let her select a trial to complete. The decision is final.”
“Ulysses, I will not stand for-” Dmitri started hotly, his face flushing.
“The decision is final, Dmitri.” For the first time since I got here, Ulysses had a stern edge to his voice, enough to send a shiver down my spine. Dmitri huffed, cursed again in that foreign language, looking away. “Is there anything else you wish to tell us?” he asked Sven, his voice calm and collected again.
“No. I have nothing more to say.”
“Very well. You are both dismissed.”
Sven bowed silently, then turned to leave. I hesitated, giving a final glance to the three regal Kings, then followed him out. We weren't escorted by a guard this time, but he seemed to know exactly where he was going. He led us through the maze of tunnels, and I felt like a lost child among the strange vampires and massive rock walls around us.
We were deep in the tunnel system when we stopped outside an old oaken door. There were many rooms down this end of the complex, but only a few had doors -the majority just had open doorways or makeshift curtains. He opened it, waving me in. He closed the door behind him as he came in, sighing before he moved to sit on the bed in the middle of the small room, the head of the bed against the wall.
“It was supposed to be a lot easier than that,” he mumbled, looking down. I didn't really know what to say to that -the only things going through my mind were questions, too many to count. “If only Dmitri agreed...”
I sat down on the edge of the fireplace that sat against the wall facing the end of the bed, the warmth of the fire heating my back, slipping off my guitar case and laying it on the floor next to me. He glanced over at me briefly, then sighed softly.
“I don't know what to do now. A whole month of hanging around here, being watched the whole time...”
“Could start by explaining some of this crap to me?” I offered. He cocked an eyebrow at me.
“I suppose so. What do you want to know?”
“A, more about vampires, b, more about the society, and c, what the heck is this 'prophecy' that was mentioned when I said my name?”
“...Well, we could start from the beginning, the vampires?”
“Sure.”
He took a deep breath, thinking this through carefully, figuring out how to start it.
“Okay, I'll be blunt here. We're nothing like the murderous, blood-crazed Dracula stereotypes that humans seem to think we are. Garlic doesn't harm us, nor does holy water, we can cross running water, we can enter places uninvited, and -seriously, I find it ridiculous I have to clarify this- of course a stake through the heart would kill us. A steak through the heart would kill anybody, except a banshee or ghost. Though I doubt you could find any stake strong enough to pierce the skin of a vamp.”
“What about the sun? Does that do anything?”
“That myth is only partially true. The sun does effect us, but not by much. We just get sunburnt a lot easier than you.” A brief silence as I mulled it over, sorting out the questions in my head.
“Tell me more about your powers, what you can do.”
“Alright... You've experienced most of it first hand, mostly. We're much stronger than than humans, and can fast enough for your slow eyes to even see us. Our eyesight is much better than yours, too -we have much sharper vision, and can see in the dark easily. That relates back to the sun theory -we tend to shy away from it because of our sensitive eyes.
“And all of us have a special ability we haven't been able to scientifically explain yet. We can change what people know, remove their memories of us. We are able to do it in a wide area, but to do it that way is far more draining. The other way is to do it by hand, individually, like I was doing to you.” I nodded slowly, understanding.
“That explains what I felt when you touched me, probing my mind... It was weird.”
“Mm. My mind was transferred to your temporarily, searching for the right memories. It's a complicated process, but you'll learn more about it as we go.”
“If we go at all,” I muttered quietly. He opened his mouth to say something, but I didn't really want him to patronise me. “So you haven't been able to explain it with science?”
“Aye.”
“What about the rest? Is vampirism in general explainable?”
“Certain aspects, yes.”
“Such as?” He deliberated that for a moment.
“The need for blood is because our metabolism is different. Out need for it is bestial, like that of an animal. Many say we're descended from wolves.”
“Okay... Makes sense-ish.” I paused, grabbing another question out of the mess in my head. “You say you're not 'murderous' like the Forza, but do those you feed from die?”
“Of course not!” he said, sounding a little offended. “We only take a small amount, not even enough for the victim to feel the effects of blood loss. It is hard to restrain ourselves, yes, but it is a small price to pay when gambling lives, and you get used to it after a time.
“Wild animals, such as deer or foxes and the like, we kill when we feed on them, but that makes us no different to humans. You eat the meat and use the hides, whereas we just take their blood. The blood of lesser creatures does not have the same effect as human blood. If we only feed on beasts, we become as weak as what you would refer to as a 'strong man' -a slightly above average human-, and are worthless among our kind, which is why we need to blood of humans. Your blood holds more energy and life force in it.”
“Right...” I trailed off, lapsing into though. We sat in silence for a while, both of us brooding.
Waiting here a whole month… That would make it almost four months since my first encounter with vampires. Four months of this crazy, blood-drenched world of the immortal. Four months since I ‘died’, broke myself off from normality, since I spoke to my parents, my classmates. Since I spoke to Caine.
“Come on,” Sven said abruptly, standing.
”Where are we going?”
“We’re going to find you something to eat, then figure out where you’re going to sleep. Leave your stuff here.”
I shrugged, taking my other bag off and leaving it on the floor against the wall, glad to be temporarily relieved of my thoughts. I stood and followed him out, memories of the friend I left behind haunting my subconscience.