Kindred Part 7

I was not happy to awaken yet again, choking on blood. I started to cry, momentarily regretting that I hadn't given Her what I wanted, thinking there really was no escape for me. "Drink from me." Her voice, usually so harsh and almost painful to hear was now almost human sounding in it's inflection.

I opened my eyes. I was not in the room where I usually awakened. I was in a normal-looking bedroom lying on a four-poster bed, though there were no windows. And She was laying on it with me. I immediately sprang up and tried to run away. She grabbed my arm quickly. "Kani. Listen to me." I stopped. She had never addressed me by my name, only calling me whatever she thought would hurt me the most at the moment. Her hand was strangely wet, and after looking more closely, I realized that she was bleeding from her wrist. She had been giving me her blood in the same way Brice had.

"What are you doing to me?" I asked, wiping away her blood from my mouth. It was a futile attempt. I could feel my face was coated in it.

"You are receiving The Third Blood. Which you have earned."

"I don't want anything from you." I wanted to leave, but I knew better than to turn my back on her.

"It was neccesary. There are no weak Kindred. Everyone is either forged or broken."

"Everyone? You mean you do this to everyone?"

"Not by me personally, no. I am one of several." I didn't know how to reply to that. There was a group of Kindred devoted to torturing their own? I couldn't wrap my head around it. "Drink from me. It is neccesary."

I reluctantly took her wrist and started to suck. It was richer blood than even Brice's had been, with a more bitter candy flavor. In spite of myself, I found it to be quite enjoyable, drawing her blood into my mouth in slow steady sucks. When I was full, I let go of her wrist, belching. I lay back on the bed, with a feeling similar to a beer buzz. "What is so important that you had to hurt me like that?"

"There are beings that would hunt us down. Some for sport. Others for for more...personal reasons. In order for us to live undetected, it is important that none of us are capable of breaking."

"I think it's overkill. What would anyone want with me? I only knew where one blood bar was. I'm nowhere near as old as anyone else."

"Which makes you easier to capture."

I looked at her oddly, not fully believing she tortured me so long merely for the good of the Kindred. "You liked what what you did to me, didn't you?"

She smiled slightly, frightening me again. "Yes."

I got up. "Where are my clothes? I want to see Brice." But I really didn't want to. He had known what what would have happened to me if he made me one of The Kindred. "Never mind about Brice. I just want something wear." She pointed to a closet. I looked around inside. Most of the clothes were old, and half desintegrated, but I managed to find an old t-shirt and some bell bottoms, which were most likely originals.

"Brice must be sent for. My bath is in the next room over."

I didn't want to tell her 'thank you', so I just nodded my head and went into the other room. It was a very old bathroom, with a clawfoot tub, an old-fashioned pull toilet, and a small free-standing sink, all kept very clean. I found an unopened bar of savon de Marseille, and promptly took a long bath. I sat in the tub for some time, not knowing what to think. How could Kindred live like this? Torturing one another just to weed out the weak? It was beyond anything I could have ever imagined. I was almost disappointed that She was Kindred.

After my bath and getting dressed, I went back into the room, where she was still on the bed, waiting expectantly. "My name is Jord." It was odd to finally hear her name, after thinking of her as some unnamable monster in my head. I didn't want to have a conversation with her.

"When is Brice coming?" I asked.

"Soon. But you have questions."

I rubbed my arms nervously. "I don't really want to talk to you."

Jord tilted her head. "Few survive my attention. You have proven yourself. What motive would I have to attack you now?"

"I don't know. But I don't know anything about being Kindred."

"Ask me anything."

"Is there somewhere else we can talk?"

Jord grinned, showing her bright white bites. "Your surroundings make you nervous." She got off her bed. "Come." I followed her out of her bedroom into a sort of study, with two large leather recliners complete with ottomans. There was also a desk, with old-fashioned parchment and pens, and a small bookcase which held mostly foreign language dictionaries. There was no computer or television. Jord sat in a recliner, and I took the other. Jord put her feet up on her ottoman, relaxing.

I wasted no time. "To begin with, where am I? And how much time has passed since you took me?"

"You are underground. And nearly three months have passed."

"Where am I underground?"

"London, England."

I looked at her oddly. "How'd you get me here?"

"You were drained, and then you were put in a coffin as a corpse and transported into the country by plane. I accompanied you and brought you here personally." Jord grinned in self-satisfaction. "Humans are oblivious things, wouldn't you agree?"

I just stared at her before asking my next question. "How old are you?"

"Ah, a personal question! I am one thousand, and eighty-three years old."

I was shocked. "You're that old? How is that even possible?"

Jord shrugged. "As long as I want to live, I will live. It is simple."

I shook my head, but I believed her. There was no other way she could be that strong and fast otherwise. "Where are you from?"

"In your language, I came from Denmark."

I did my math. "You were a warrior, then. A viking."

"We called ourselves vikingr. And I am still a warrior. I simply don't have a war at the time."

I grimaced at the thought of her in battle and decided to change the subject. "The blood I kept waking up in...where did it come from?"

"Those who broke." She said simply.

I grimaced again. "Where are we exactly? There aren't any windows."

"Underground. Below an old railway long since abandoned. Few places are safe to conduct my work in. Even in houses."

"How long will it take Brice to get here?"

"A few hours I imagine. Though he did not tell me his location." She looked at me with a strange expression on her face. "It has been a long time since I have seen him."

I didn't want to know what she meant exactly. "How long?"

"Nearly a century."

I nodded, acknowledging her answer. "How did you meet him?"

"He came to retrieve Oyoko in much the same way he will come to retrieve you."

I grimaced. "So, they were really trying to stop you from taking me because they knew what you would do."

"It is traditional for me to fight the totem of those I forge. It tests our strength. But I understand Brice and Oyoko fought more than was neccessary." She eyed me with interest. "Tell me why that is."

"I really don't want to say."

"Oyoko must still have the same need for female attention that I awoke in her, long ago." Jord pierced the corner of her lip with her two left bites, drawing blood. She reclined her chair slightly, tracing her bloody lips in vapid ectasy. I felt my skin crawl at her blatant display of self mutilation. "But Brice bores so easily. How is it that you attracted his attention?"

"How do you know that?"

"I do not know him intimatelly, but from what I have heard, he is like a hummingbird, dipping his tongue in whatever flower attracts him." She laughed harshly at her joke, though I was only assuming she was joking. "Perhaps he has grown bored of all the regular blooms, and decided to nurture his own blossom." She leaned forward to stare at me, her blood streaming from her wounded lip as she grinned at me. "But you are nothing like him. What could be his true motivation?" She continued to stare at me.

"What do you mean by that?" I felt offended.

"Probably nothing." She face became unreadable again.

I shifted nervously in my chair. "When will Brice be here?"

"Soon. It worries you to have me so near."

"How would you feel in my position?"

"Nothing except hatred. Which might be what you feel. Do you hate me?" her last four words sounded teasing.

Despite her tone, I couldn't answer that. "I wouldn't shed a tear if you died."

She nodded at that. "Few would. I am one who is feared." She grinned at me again. "Do you fear me?"

"I fear whoever allowed you to survive for over a thousand years. You're unnatural."

"What is nature? Up until a year ago, humans were still touting Giant Squids as fables. Nature is survivng and defending oneself. That is all nature is." she licked the blood streaming from her lip absently. "And after a thousand years, what do you think you will become?" I froze, not wanting to think it was even a possibility. Jord laughed harshly. "A joke! You are not descended from many warriors and soldiers. I find it unlikely that you will become as I am. Unless madness intervenes, of course."

"What do you mean?"

"Ah. It has been too long since I explained one's bloodline. Your hand." She said, outstretching her own. I hesitated at the thought of another bloodletting. "You have shed enough blood." Jord said, as if reading my thoughts. "Your smell will be good enough."

"How is that possible?" I asked incredulously.

"Consider me to be the oldest wine taster you have ever met." she suggested, lifting my wrist. "To whom tasting has become unneccesary." She took a deep whiff of my wrist, flaring her nostrils. "Of course, you are descended from The First, as are all Kindred. From there, our origins differ. You are descended from Seshet Kish, the first female scribe. She brought her blood to Imhotep, whose intelligence in building and medicine was so revered he was worshipped as a god. By humans, of course. He brought his blood to Nehsy, perhaps the first explorer of his kind, who would be the first to set his feet in the western hemisphere since the continents were created. He then brought his blood to he-who-is-now-called-Quetzalcoatl, famed Ruler of the Olmecs, now since defied several times over. Quetzalcoatl in turn brought his blood to Socrates (the Greek historian) during his exile. Socrates brought his blood to Kentakes Shipushikomisa-shak, Queen of Meroe. Kentakes Shipushikomisa-shak brought her blood to Li Qingzhao, a famous Chinese poet. Li Qingzhao brought her blood to Shahrazad, the queen of Persia who spent over two years keeping herself alive with stories. Shahrazad brought her blood to Brice, who has the slickest tongue I have heard in centuries. Brice then brought his blood to you, for unknown reasons."

I had a sour expression on my face. "For unknown reasons?"

"Yes. What have you done? Are you a writer, like so many from your line? Will you be a physician like Imhotep, so far removed from you? An explorer like Nehsy?"

"I guess you have a point. I don't really know." I didn't want to think about Brice having an alterier motive to loving me. "Should I have done something?"

"Those of us that survive into the centuries must support ourselves. Having no vigorous craft or passion makes it all the more difficult for you." Her voice became quite cold.

"I am studying philosophy in college. I was working towards getting my degree."

"Oh? What do you hope to gain from something like that?"

"I've always wanted to learn, from as long as I could remember. I'm hoping that one day I'll be able to see the pattern everything makes."

"The pattern? That's simple. Things die, and other things replace them." said Jord, grinning again.

"That's a little too simplistic, if you don't mind me saying so."

"You Seshies always make things more difficult than they need to be." Jord replied defensively, out of the blue. Not seeking to antagonize her, I said nothing. She regained her good humor after a minute or two. "I was only teasing!" she said with a laugh, though she hadn't been.

"Well," I said, clearing my throat, "That's what I intend to do."

Jord shrugged, suddenly leaning towards me. "I would have thought you would have wanted to continue what we started."

I swallowed the lump in my throat very slowly. "No. I would never do what we did again. I would assume that you would be quite satisfied with Pallas as it is."

Jord smiled, her injured lip already healed. She pierced her lip again, moaning slightly. "You really don't know anything, do you? Pallas is being punished."

"He's being punished? It felt more like he was punishing me!"

"It is required that I feed him, to keep him from starving. Did you not see his chains and the hair entiwined?"

"So you let him feed on me?"

Jord shrugged. "I decided to kill two birds with one stone. This is not only a passion, Kani. This is a job. "

"But what did he do?"

"He was responsible for the destruction of one of our allies. Perhaps you have heard of the Minoans, or more famously, the Amazons."

"But.....I thought they weren't real! Archaeologists have found Amazon-like cultures-"

"But not the Amazons themselves." There was a bitter edge to her voice that I had never heard before. I hadn't known she was capable of feeling anything other than perverse pleasure.

"How could one man, even one who was Kindred, destroy an entire civilization?"

"He had help. But he's paying for his part now. The one who sought to conquer and keep the strongest women under his feet is now being led around in chains by one. A fitting judgement."

"Over a thousand years of torment? Two thousand? When will his punishment end?"

Jord shrugged. "He was in bound before I tasted the first drop of blood on my lips. He will probably be standing when I sip my last."

"I don't understand. How is he being punished? He probably doesn't even know he's alive! Why aren't you torturing him like you did me?"

"You truely have no comprehension." Jord replied, shaking her blonde head. "It does not surprise me. You come from a nation that wages wars in other countries, hiding it's citizens from the truth of war."

"Are you drugging him?"

"No. You still do not understand. Pallas is broken."

"Broken?"

"His will is gone. He will do whatever I command, waiting in a trance for my orders."

I shivered, cold from her words. "So if I would I have given in-"

"I would not have given you the opportunity to become as he is. Pallas is what he is from centuries of torture and training from Kindred long since dead or...gone. No one has become like him before or since."

"And what is he? Is he even Kindred anymore?"

Jord's lips twitched slightly. "That is one of the few things I do not know. I do know he is under control."

For some reason, I saw fear in her expression. "Really? How can you be sure of that? He is older than you. "

"He has been under my control for over five hundred years. He would not break free of me now." Her words were even less sure now.

"Wouldn't he? In a world where the United States and China make the Roman Empire look like Taiwan? I can imagine he must be aching to join the Navy Seals and just go crazy."

I could see her move, but I couldn't quite get myself to move out of the way. In a half-secend she had my throat very securely in her grip. "If you think you percieve any weakness in me, stripling, then I suggest you take up a mace and challenge me!"

"Turnabout is fair play, Jord." I said, around her hand. "You were trying to test me earlier, I was just doing the same thing."

Unexpectantly, Jord smiled. "Good." she released me. "I have confidence that you will not fail."

"At what?"

"At anything." Her pocket rang, and she removed a cell phone. "Brice is here. Stay here, and I'll walk him to you." She left the room, and I sank into my chair in relief.

Was it really over? Could I really leave this place? I hoped so, despite myself. Jord was probably the worst breathing creature walking the earth, but she was no lier. I could feel my heart race at the thought of seeing Brice again. What had been doing while I had been gone? Did he still lo-

I decided not finish that thought. I had no idea how he felt about me, if he felt anything at all. Maybe this had all been a game to him, and when he saw me, he'd just turn around and walk away. there was no telling. Isn't that what had happened to the Lestat in one of Anne Rice's books? I couldn't remember. I hadn't really read any novels since high school, and I had tended to avoid vampire novels. I hoped someone would note the irony and give me a fucking break.

I didn't have long to wait. In about a half-hour, I saw him walk into the room. with Jord close behind. His usually shoulder-length brown hair was cut into a more modern David Beckham buzz cut. He was even wearing a new tuxedo. I was a little taken aback. I had never seen Brice in a suit period, let alone a tuxedo. He just wasn't the type to wear one, and it showed. He looked very uncomfortable.

"Kani?" He asked, as if he wasn't sure it was me.

"Yes?" I folded my arms. I wasn't sure if I wanted to hug him or knock him out.

"I could say I'm sorry, but that wouldn't really cover it would it?" he said.

I looked at him oddly, reading him like I couldn't have months ago. "But you aren't sorry. Are you?"

"Actually I'm not." He said, putting a hand in his pants pocket, losing his discomfort.

"You bastard." I said between clenched teeth. "How can you not be sorry? Was this some kind of game? Was I some pawn to you?"

"I'm not sorry, because now you can stay with me." he walked over to me and took my hand. "There wasn't any other way, believe me. Please believe me when I say that."

"I don't understand any of this. It doesn't make sense. When I met you, you were like me. Human. "

"How could you tell?" he asked, his brown eyes boring into me.

I looked away from him. "I don't know. But you sure as hell weren't picking up people for a blood sundae either."

"I've been around for over two hundred years. Please give me more credit when it comes to being discreet." His voice had a teasing undertone that I wasn't happy with.

"Don't patronize me. I don't give a damn if you're half a millenium old." I warned. I'm sure I must have been as threatening as a baby bunny to Brice, but he had the decency to sober his expression.

"Look. Just forget about all that. It's over with. I'm giving you something better than your old life. I'm giving you the chance to be with me."

"Are you really that conceited Brice? Do you really think that I'll just drop everything and stay with you? I'm still in college. I have friends and family who are worried sick. No. I can't do this now." I got up and walked to the door. I crossed my arms, feeling cold all of a sudden.

He followed me and leaned over my neck. "You don't think my head is that inflated, do you? I thought you wanted to be with me, too."

"What am I not hearing from you Brice?" I turned and looked at him. "What will stop you from moving on to someone else in the future? I'm not going to let you have your fun at my expense!"

"There is a limit to how large a totem can grow, in respect to one's age. My limit was four. Myself, Oyoko, Rick, and Darian. I'm going to be a target for bringing you over. Do you think I'd break the law for just anyone? For just any reason?"

I gave him a look. "Yes you would. " I folded my arms. "I want you to say it."

Brice gave a look to Jord, who seemed to be quite amused with the whole situation. "Say what?"

"Say it and mean it, or I'm not leaving with you."

Brice looked me straight in the eye. "I love you."

"Good." I hugged him, squeezing him hard. Then I let him go and slapped him. "Now don't you ever leave me to fucking rot like that again, or you'll get worse."

Brice rubbed his cheek, grinning in typical Brice fashion. "You got stronger. I like that."

I rolled my eyes. "Can we please leave now?" Brice nodded, walking out of the room. I followed him, walking through Jord's bedroom, and out into a hallway. My eyes smarted from the sudden bright light. The hallway was lit with old fashioned kerosene lanterns, hanging at irregular intervals. When I took a closer look at the stones that made up the hallway, I swallowed a gasp. They weren't stones at all, but skulls.

"The fate of those who have been found wanting." murmurred Brice. "And some not until they have left this place." The way steepened gradually until I reached a small flight of stairs. We followed these up to a trap door, which opened up into the deserted train tunnel, right between the tracks.

"This is the only warning you will recieve from me, Kani." called Jord before we closed the trap door. "Obey the law, or you will see me again. And I will finish you."
She grinned when she said that, as if she wasn't quite telling me truth.

Brice slammed the trap door closed, rudely. "Let's go. We have an appointment."