Seem to Stop My Breath
When Darkness Turns To Light, It Ends Tonight
When darkness turns to light, It ends tonight
Cassie's Point Of View
More people than I’d seen in a long time stood in the room in front of me. The only light came from the other side of the room, where Gerard’s parents were standing. The people all dressed in identical hooded black robes, with red ropes around their wastes. Gerard nudged me into the room and led me further into the room. I could tell there was a definite aisle that led to the front of the room. I nervously looked around at everyone. There were at least two hundred black robed Vampires; some of them had their mouths open, revealing fangs. I stumbled forward as they all turned to look at me. I felt Gerard catch me and put his arm around my back as we headed to the front of the room. The room was all dark wood. The massive full length windows, that during the daylight would reveal the vast woods surrounding the mansion, only revealed several distant stars. The few candles on the raised dais I tried not to think of it as an altar, illuminated the few faces on top of it with an eerie flicker. Two hundred pairs of eyes followed me as we walked towards the dais. Mr. And Mrs. Way, both wearing hoodless ornate robes stood in front of us. I was starting to hyper-ventilate, not knowing what was going on when Mr. Way spoke.
“Are you Cassiel Azariel?”
“Yes sir” I said shakily.
“And you want to be a part of this coven?”
So this was the creepy initiation ceremony.
“I have wished to become a member for a long time.”
“Kneel”
I knelt down and Gerard stood behind me.
“Understand that once you are initiated into this Coven there is no out. Treason is not
tolerated. Do you agree to live under the rules, knowing the penalties for them?”
“Yes sir?”
They were initiating me without my prior consent. This was odd.
“Gerard has volunteered to be your sponsor, any qualms, and any problems you are to take
up with him. He is to guide you through becoming acquainted.”
Gerard gently squeezed my shoulder. As soon as Mr. Way had finished his statement everyone left the room silently, well almost everyone. Mikey took the hood off of his head and brought out a sword. I looked around trying to see where everyone went.
“Cassie,”
“Yes?”
Mikey had handed Mrs. Way the sword. She was looking at me like I was her daughter. It
seemed to relax me, even though my heart was still beating a mile a minute.
“Becoming a part of this coven is a big deal. You have to follow all the rules. Most of them you have already bent or broken.”
I looked over at Mikey, who was smirking. He had aided in breaking many of those rules.
“Gerard should have been exiled for letting you in on our secret and letting you stay here so often. To your advantage though, he’s our son and we’re the ones that are allowed to break
the rules.
She lifted the sword and set it lightly on my shoulder, then on the other. Essentially I had just been knighted.
“The people who were just in the room are you new family. There is someone from almost
every profession; they will always be there to help you.”
She handed the sword back to Mikey who re-sheathed it. She then grabbed my hand and pulled me up. After a vice like hug from Mr. & Mrs. Way, and a very awkward hug from Mikey, Gerard led me behind the dais to a recess in the wall. The recess was apparently a doorway. The Ways were disrobing and hanging them up in a closet next to a full length mirror. Mikey followed us into the small room, but we took a right and headed down a dark hallway. At the end was a dimly lit staircase. Gerard led the way up, never letting go of my hand. When we got to the landing, went through another long hallway, this one more brightly lit. There were very few doors throughout the long hallway. Through another doorway and we were in a medium sized room with bunch of overstuffed chairs and a couch that looked older than I was, yet still incredibly comfortable. A fireplace cackled merrily at the other end of the room, casting shadows everywhere. I started to walk towards the fireplace, my hand gently sliding on the backs of chairs. Gerard followed me closely.
“Where are we?”
“This is an antechamber to the ballroom balcony.”
“Ah, and could you have really been exiled?”
Gerard looked me straight in the eye and smiled.
“But you are worth it.”
The sentence barely made it out of his mouth before his lips collided with mine. Eventually
we broke apart for air, just as he leaned in for another kiss Mikey coughed. We both spun to see Mikey who had just waked into the other side the room.
“Mom and Dad are looking for you two; you have to make an appearance soon before they send out search parties.”
With that Mikey turned on his heel and headed back out the open door and down the
corridor. I felt Gerard sigh and he kissed me on the forehead.
“Well then, I guess that’s our cue to enter.”
“Enter where?”
“The ballroom, where everyone went”
We headed out of the room through a set of double doors that led to the gigantic staircase
in the ballroom. I wrapped my arm around Gerard’s as we walked down the staircase. Not that many people noticed us; they all seemed to be lost in their own conversations. For once I was thankful. The only people that did notice were the Ways, who seemed to be expecting our entrance.
At some point Gerard and I became separated. People who I’d never seen before were introducing themselves. I guess I should be referring to them as vampires, but they weren’t stereotypical vampires. Vampires of legends rarely become doctors, although lawyers could be a possibility. Gerard found me staring at the punch fountain. Blood red liquid spilled over the top into bowls significantly bigger than the last. His arms wrapped around my waist and he whispered in my ear.
“It’s not blood; it’s just made to look like it.”
“Then what is it?”
I turned around to look him in the eye, he appeared deep in thought.
“Good? Whatever it is I know it’s not blood. Sorry I lost you; I had some stuff to take care of. Who did you meet?”
“Well, now that you mention it, I met a bricklayer, an OBGYN, a guy who said he was in “construction”, a seamstress and a pilot. "
Gerard spent the rest of the night introducing me to people whose names I’d forget by
morning. I stumbled from lack of sleep into my room at about five in the morning. It would be the last night I spent in the house for awhile.
Cassie's Point Of View
More people than I’d seen in a long time stood in the room in front of me. The only light came from the other side of the room, where Gerard’s parents were standing. The people all dressed in identical hooded black robes, with red ropes around their wastes. Gerard nudged me into the room and led me further into the room. I could tell there was a definite aisle that led to the front of the room. I nervously looked around at everyone. There were at least two hundred black robed Vampires; some of them had their mouths open, revealing fangs. I stumbled forward as they all turned to look at me. I felt Gerard catch me and put his arm around my back as we headed to the front of the room. The room was all dark wood. The massive full length windows, that during the daylight would reveal the vast woods surrounding the mansion, only revealed several distant stars. The few candles on the raised dais I tried not to think of it as an altar, illuminated the few faces on top of it with an eerie flicker. Two hundred pairs of eyes followed me as we walked towards the dais. Mr. And Mrs. Way, both wearing hoodless ornate robes stood in front of us. I was starting to hyper-ventilate, not knowing what was going on when Mr. Way spoke.
“Are you Cassiel Azariel?”
“Yes sir” I said shakily.
“And you want to be a part of this coven?”
So this was the creepy initiation ceremony.
“I have wished to become a member for a long time.”
“Kneel”
I knelt down and Gerard stood behind me.
“Understand that once you are initiated into this Coven there is no out. Treason is not
tolerated. Do you agree to live under the rules, knowing the penalties for them?”
“Yes sir?”
They were initiating me without my prior consent. This was odd.
“Gerard has volunteered to be your sponsor, any qualms, and any problems you are to take
up with him. He is to guide you through becoming acquainted.”
Gerard gently squeezed my shoulder. As soon as Mr. Way had finished his statement everyone left the room silently, well almost everyone. Mikey took the hood off of his head and brought out a sword. I looked around trying to see where everyone went.
“Cassie,”
“Yes?”
Mikey had handed Mrs. Way the sword. She was looking at me like I was her daughter. It
seemed to relax me, even though my heart was still beating a mile a minute.
“Becoming a part of this coven is a big deal. You have to follow all the rules. Most of them you have already bent or broken.”
I looked over at Mikey, who was smirking. He had aided in breaking many of those rules.
“Gerard should have been exiled for letting you in on our secret and letting you stay here so often. To your advantage though, he’s our son and we’re the ones that are allowed to break
the rules.
She lifted the sword and set it lightly on my shoulder, then on the other. Essentially I had just been knighted.
“The people who were just in the room are you new family. There is someone from almost
every profession; they will always be there to help you.”
She handed the sword back to Mikey who re-sheathed it. She then grabbed my hand and pulled me up. After a vice like hug from Mr. & Mrs. Way, and a very awkward hug from Mikey, Gerard led me behind the dais to a recess in the wall. The recess was apparently a doorway. The Ways were disrobing and hanging them up in a closet next to a full length mirror. Mikey followed us into the small room, but we took a right and headed down a dark hallway. At the end was a dimly lit staircase. Gerard led the way up, never letting go of my hand. When we got to the landing, went through another long hallway, this one more brightly lit. There were very few doors throughout the long hallway. Through another doorway and we were in a medium sized room with bunch of overstuffed chairs and a couch that looked older than I was, yet still incredibly comfortable. A fireplace cackled merrily at the other end of the room, casting shadows everywhere. I started to walk towards the fireplace, my hand gently sliding on the backs of chairs. Gerard followed me closely.
“Where are we?”
“This is an antechamber to the ballroom balcony.”
“Ah, and could you have really been exiled?”
Gerard looked me straight in the eye and smiled.
“But you are worth it.”
The sentence barely made it out of his mouth before his lips collided with mine. Eventually
we broke apart for air, just as he leaned in for another kiss Mikey coughed. We both spun to see Mikey who had just waked into the other side the room.
“Mom and Dad are looking for you two; you have to make an appearance soon before they send out search parties.”
With that Mikey turned on his heel and headed back out the open door and down the
corridor. I felt Gerard sigh and he kissed me on the forehead.
“Well then, I guess that’s our cue to enter.”
“Enter where?”
“The ballroom, where everyone went”
We headed out of the room through a set of double doors that led to the gigantic staircase
in the ballroom. I wrapped my arm around Gerard’s as we walked down the staircase. Not that many people noticed us; they all seemed to be lost in their own conversations. For once I was thankful. The only people that did notice were the Ways, who seemed to be expecting our entrance.
At some point Gerard and I became separated. People who I’d never seen before were introducing themselves. I guess I should be referring to them as vampires, but they weren’t stereotypical vampires. Vampires of legends rarely become doctors, although lawyers could be a possibility. Gerard found me staring at the punch fountain. Blood red liquid spilled over the top into bowls significantly bigger than the last. His arms wrapped around my waist and he whispered in my ear.
“It’s not blood; it’s just made to look like it.”
“Then what is it?”
I turned around to look him in the eye, he appeared deep in thought.
“Good? Whatever it is I know it’s not blood. Sorry I lost you; I had some stuff to take care of. Who did you meet?”
“Well, now that you mention it, I met a bricklayer, an OBGYN, a guy who said he was in “construction”, a seamstress and a pilot. "
Gerard spent the rest of the night introducing me to people whose names I’d forget by
morning. I stumbled from lack of sleep into my room at about five in the morning. It would be the last night I spent in the house for awhile.