Finding Eve Part 2 of 2 - Chapters 1, 2

Part 2

Prologue

Eve knew within Eden a forbidden garden grew. Neither Adam nor Eve was ever to set foot upon the ground this garden rested on. Adam told Eve about God’s warning to Adam that anyone who trespassed would be cursed. It was to be a heaven on earth that mortals could not possess. Adam heeded this warning. Curiosity got the best of Eve; she decided that looking was not stepping into the garden.

Along the 12 foot tall, natural stone barrier that enclosed the forbidden garden, there was one place stones had fallen from the wall, and it created an uneven mound. From this break, fragrance from fruit and flower poured, this intrigued her further. The stone mound created a structure for her to climb on and sit on the top of the wall, just to look.

The garden was unlike any she had seen. It was very bright even though there was much foliage, and tree covering, as if there were micro sun light reflectors in the air. The sun light was especially bright towards the center of the garden. There were three trees in the center, their bases set 30 paces apart, and formed points for a triangle. Within that triangle a thick mat of short, royal blue flowers covered the ground. These flowers only grew within this triangle. Along the trunks flowering vines crawled upwards. The flowers were a deep red and the petals created a flower more beautiful than any other. Each of the three trees had a different fruit on them. One fruit looked like elongated peaches, another, elongated plums, and the third looked like round bananas.

‘Surly God did not want this fruit to go to waste,’ Eve rationalized, though no fruit had yet fallen to the ground since its creation. Her stomach growled is if in response. It had been a couple hours since she had eaten. ‘Surly God did not want me to go hungry this day.’

“Of course not, you are hissss creation.” A voice spoke close by.

“Who is that?” Eve asked, curiosity always did get the best of her ‘Who could be in the forbidden garden?’

“It is I, a lowly ssssssnake.” The snake was long, and black with a white diamond on its head.

“Where are you?”

“In the tree of Life. Why do you sit ssssso far from me?”

“I am not allowed to enter the garden.”

“Why would God not allow you, his most beautiful creation, in the mossssst beautiful place? Why would He not give you the fruit that will allow you to be as He is? After all you are like He is.”

“I don’t know.” She responded, thoughts flooded her mind. ‘Why wouldn’t He want us to be like Him? He made us in his image. Maybe he does want us to be like Him. Maybe this is a test. What would it hurt anyways? He surly doesn’t want me to go hungry today, and I am hungry.’

“Of courssssse you are. Here.” She didn’t give a second thought as to how the snake knew to respond to what she was thinking. With its head the snake tossed her a peach-like fruit from the tree of Life. “Just try it; just one little bite.”

She looked at the juicy, tempting fruit now in her hands. “I am hungry” she took a bite. The sensation that filled her mouth was like no other. The fruit was as sweet as it smelled delicious. “I would truly like to try another one.”

“I am ssssorry. I cannot move from this tree.”

She desired the other fruit, and forgot about the curse. She scooted along the wall to a branch just inches away from the stone barrier. She got up onto the thick branch and walked across to the trunk of the tree. She gingerly climbed down the base of the tree with the tree nooks, smaller branches as footing.

As she walked over to the base of the trees that formed the triangle, she was overcome by the fragrance and the beauty of this place. ‘Why would God not want us to enjoy this place? It must surly be a test.’ She picked two flowers, one red, one blue, and tucked it behind her ear. She took just one of each of the other two fruit and crawled back up the tree, she knew Adam would like to try these two fruit.

She did not notice the bite mark on the inside of her wrist. It was given when she reached up to pick the second fruit. The poison now flooding through her pregnant body was unlike other snake venom. It was delivered from the devil himself.

Chapter 1

“I have passed you before witch, seductress, vile DEMONESS that you are,” his voice was vehement.

The Vampire Lord thought for a moment, ‘Yes, I know this smell. I know this blood.’ She said nothing, slowly walking around him, as if to size him up and to wear him down. He was bound with nearly unbreakable threads so there were no worries of him attacking. His tight muscles rippled, as her eyes trailed his body.

‘From where do I know this blood?’ She pondered. She had no flaws. Her beauty was perfection to all eyes. Hardships, after leaving the garden of Eden, created flaws in humans. Her long, thick, silken, black hair was tied into two multi braid, tight, bulging buns. Smooth, flawless skin covered her delicate, bone structure. Even with a petite body she held an air of authority and demanded respect. Long, sharp fingernails adorned her thin fingers. She wore a heavy, dark red, lavish gown, with delicate gold trim and embroidery that reached the floor. The gown was low cut and accentuated her firm, slender body. The only jewelry that she wore, was an ancient necklace that hung over her supple breasts. He found himself not able to take his eyes away from this dark, evil temptress. In the very far recesses of his mind he found himself lusting after her, even for all of her trespasses against him.

He hated her for all of the things he has witnessed at her hand. All of the innocents, and vampires she’s killed for her own pleasures. Sir John Chandos died at her hands, only a century after Cain had turned him.

“Take him to the dungeon” was all she said in her low and silky voice. She no longer seemed to have interest in him.
------

In the early morning, the Vampire Lord walked down to the dungeon. In her heavy, baby blue, floor length nightgown Eve walked down the many steps in the narrow stairwell. This new prisoner held her interest for the last two days. He was kept secluded in the furthest, deepest cell her fortress allowed. Nearly all the cells were fairly well kept. With her keen sense of smell she found it hard to focus when there was heavy stink.

She found the bottom step and walked briskly for another four minutes. Slowly approaching the cell, she took out a small sack. It was filled with a mixture of chamomile, lavender, sage and jasmine. All were used in tea to aid sleep. Sprinkling some into the palm of her hand, she whispered a soft Druish chant ‘of sleep’. The herbs were quietly blown towards the cell. They danced lightly to the cell door and then floated down to the prisoner. She waited momentarily, then walked up to the cell door and looked inside.

He was beautiful. His bare chest showed lean muscles. His dark curls rested underneath his head, his eyes closed. His bone structure was delicate, not unlike hers, but it held masculinity. ‘Where do I know him from?’ She thought. ‘What was he doing sneaking around my encampment?’

The few Vampire Lords that existed, didn’t age. Their physicality remained what it was when they turned. Eve was the one exception to this rule. She had just given birth before her mortal body died. Miraculously she was able to have her pre-pregnancy body. Regular vampires still aged, but slowly. One vampire year, was roughly 80 human years. She looked no older than 25. To mortal eyes he looked to be in his late 20s, but she knew, at the very least he couldn’t be any less, than 6,000 years old. She could smell eras of time on him. If a vampire stayed in a place long enough, scents would permeate their skin.

She saw that there was one small scar on his chest, barely noticeable. There looked to be a shadow of a scar on his throat just above where his clavicle bones met.

Wanting to know more about him, she opened the door to his cell and walked in. Without hesaitation she bent over him and ever so gently massaged his temples with her fingers. She focused and concentrated on her energy that passed through her fingers, making micro electric tentacles into his mind. Moments passed and all she found were recent memories of his capture, nothing significant. Frustrated she pulled away. Even unconscious, he somehow was able to hide memories. Could he really be that powerful of a vampire?

Perhaps all she needed was more energy transfer. She placed both hands lightly, covering his face. “Show me where we met,” she whispered more to herself than to him, and felt energy course between her hands and him. Picking through the fog of his memories, she saw images of a king, knights and vampires grouped together. She saw images from his eyes, he was killing vampires.

Exhausted after this energy exchange she stood up, ready to rest. She walked out of his cell and locked the door. She needed to be in her own bed and walked back the way she had come.

‘Knights and vampires. There was only one major attack on humans; it was in the time of King Edward in England. That was centuries ago. He was there for this? Is he one of mine? No, he couldn’t be.’ All Vampire Lords had a connection with each vampire they created. Vampire Lords were the only ones with the ability to create more vampires. Very specific chemical reactions had to occur for a Vampire Lord to be created, less specific for a vampire. In their circle, there were three Vampire Lords other than herself. They were not supposed to create new vampires unless they consulted her. There was no connection between him and her. None. She was the original, she and God knew this. All else would follow her. There was that, and then there was also the nagging fact that he was fighting the vampires that she did create. Why didn’t they have a connection? Knowing this information further intrigued her. ‘Who is he?’

----

Eve’s dreams that night were tormentuous. She saw images flash of her, buried alive in that coffin melenia upon melenia ago. She clawed and screamed into the eternal darkness, hoping, daring to believe it was only a nightmare. She kept no time in that makeshift coffin. When she was too hoarse to scream she listened. She heard her babe, and husband crying far away, moaning in anguish; her husband for losing his companion and her child for want of his mother. Her heart broke many times, knowing that she had betrayed them, she’d do anything to make things right, walk through hell fire if that's what it took. She cried many times over. Then she started screaming again, hoping someone would hear her. On the third night, though she would not have known until much later, she found strength after listening to her kin cry so far away. Delirious she pounded and kicked into the coffin lid. A crack in the wood was the start of her salvation.

Flashes of the prisoner’s life flew by. Through his eyes, she saw a man who she thought might have been Jesus. The flashes came in micro second bursts, so it was hard to be absolutely sure. Again she saw flashes of the king, knights and vampires. Through his eyes, he was slaughtering vampires. She had the sensation of suffocation.

She awoke and sat up abruptly, grasping at her throat, trying to rid what ever was choking her. Not finding anything she sat, inhaled deeply, and held her throat, her eyes wide, searching her room for any intruder.

---
Chapter 2

It had been a week since the prisoner had been caught. He still did not give a name, history, or reason why he tried to break into Eve’s fortress. Eve knew it was no good to starve him. Vampires without food were delirious, feral, no reason came out of their mouths once they were starved. She brought him raw meat and a fresh jug of blood every day. He would never eat it in front of her. Eve didn’t think this prisoner was the ‘sucking life blood out of a human’ type, so she didn’t torment him with live food. She would also visit him, and just sit five feet from his cage. She wouldn’t say anything, just sit and do a little gold embroidery, she tried to out wait him into saying something. He played this game well. He would sit, meditate, eyes open, and just watch her, to see if her features changed when he moved. He was trying to read her mind as much as she was trying to read his. As they were both strong Vampire Lords, neither were able to penetrate the other’s thoughts.

During one session, they were interrupted. “Mistress,” Captain of the guard whispered. “A disturbance requires your immediate attention.”

“Where is Bruma?” she asked crisply not looking at the intruder. Bruma was the second in command.

“She is dead.” He whispered, barely audible.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw the prisoner half smile, then conceal it. She turned towards the Captain of the guard, her eyes narrowed. “And Triste?” he was the third in command.

“Also dead.”

Without saying another word and showing no emotion she stood up. Captain of the guard and Eve walked briskly away from the prisoner. Bruma and Triste were both powerful vampires. Bruma was also a powerful witch, she could cast spells easily, by saying just a few words. This was one of the very reasons why she was second in command. What could have killed them both since earlier in the evening?

---

Early in the morning, Cain’s sleep was interrupted. Servants were bringing in a wash tub, clothes, robes, a fainting sofa, and a small platter of fruit into the cell across from his. ‘Ah, the mistress has changed her strategy’, he thought. Hours passed, servants came and went and no mistress arrived. After all was quiet, he fell asleep again.

Once her monitors confirmed he was asleep she walked slowly and quietly towards his cell. This time instead of chamomile, lavender, sage and jasmine, she mixed up a concoction to constantly spray at him so he would breathe it in. This solution kept him half asleep and half awake. She grew an immunity to this concoction, and used it for this exact purpose.

Eve walked into her roomy cell. She completely undressed her layers of clothing in front of him, slowly, tauntingly, all the while facing him, looking at him, and trying to gain access to his memories. She slowly poured water over herself and let it run off her petite frame. She used powdered soap and water to form a thick solution. She rubbed the soap all over her body. There was soap residue left in clumps and bubbles on parts of her body. She again poured water over her body and dried off.

All the while this was unfolding in front of his eyes; his dreamlike mind wondered if it was real or if some how she knew about his lust and fantasies for her. He watched her bathe herself.

She reached into his partially unguarded mind. She found his memories were purposefully unorganized, and had to piece scattered memories together. After a while of searching, she found a couple of memories that surprised her. She walked in his memories through his eyes, and ears. The name that stood out in her mind was Judas. People around him were calling him Judas. He had been Judas! The face she saw a few nights ago she now confirmed as Jesus. She heard Jesus betrayed more than once, saw him beaten, and hung on a cross to die a criminal’s death, all from a distance. This was when she faltered, and he was able to put up a barrier surrounding his memories. The last memory she saw of his was him placing a rope around his own neck.

She put on a sheer robe, and laid down on her over stuffed bed, with her robe partially open, knowing she had lost control over his thoughts. Then she lay down to think about her strategy and next move. She found that when she had lain down, he had put up a stronger barrier in his mind. She was no longer able to access any memories. She will have to try again.

Jesus was her only hope. He would have given her forgiveness of her sins, even if God wouldn’t. Her sins would have been taken away and she might have been able to die a mortal death. This Judas sent Jesus to his death.

---

He awoke that night to find Eve glancing at him from her cell, doing some embroidery, her robe partially open. She sat partially reclined, with her legs pointing towards him, feet together up on a small plump, cushioned stool, the robe draped down both sides of her legs. She looked beautiful in the soft light. Her body language was much like that of a visiting friend, casual and relaxed, as if two sets of bars didn’t separate them. That frustrated him.

‘What did she find out?’ Cain thought. ‘What did I let her find out?’ that thought worried him more, that she was able to find information from him without his knowledge.

“I know who you are,” was all she said, at an exact timing that he considered she might have known what he was thinking.

She sat there waiting for a response, a reaction. Nothing. ‘He must think I am bluffing.’ “You were Judas.” Still nothing. “I saw you betray Jesus. After all these years I considered Judas to be myth and here you sit with me.” No response. “Is that how you became a vampire?” she asked, then immediately wanted to retract the question. Asking a question would mean that she truly didn’t know.

“You know nothing mistress,” his quiet response was cold, held no emotion, and quick; as if to respond to what she had been thinking. He gave her nothing. They left it like that for the rest of the night. Neither of them giving anything more.

---

“My lady, there have also been other mysterious deaths. Rufus just called me from England and said three of his superior officers have been killed. No one saw anything,” Jordan said his voice stressful. Jordan was Eve’s new second in command, he’ll do for now. Rufus was another Vampire Lord.

“We need to find out who is killing these vampires.” Eve said.

“Rufus is launching a full investigation on his end. They are picking through the rooms and will be doing autopsies within the hour. These attackers must have left something.”

“Have you heard from Tlac?”

“No, nothing yet. Should I call?”

“Yes. Hishira?”

“I will call her as well.”

“Brief me in two hours.” She had some investigating of her own to do. She needed to hear what the townsfolk had to say. There just happened to be a town hall meeting later that day. It was mostly composed of older men. She would find out all the information she needed. Before going to this meeting she had to know a few things. What was taken or left in Bruma and Triste’s quarters and offices.

---

In Triste’s quarters nothing seemed out of place, except for the slightly open window. Triste never kept his window open. As all other vampires he was deathly afraid of the sun. Only Vampire Lords could stand the sun, even then, most had to wear protective clothing, and put a thick layer of ‘skin’ on, and still limit time in this sun. Even with these precautions, they still had headaches, and light burns. ‘Skin’ had a consistency similar to makeup foundation. Eve was the only one known to their society able to withstand the full power of the sun, with no protection. Eve looked out the window in the dim light, searching the horizon for any clue of a lookout point. She looked down at the sheer wall his tower chamber stood on. It would have been difficult for any human to climb that wall, easy for a strong vampire. Now that they knew vampires were a threat they would have to be more careful.

In Bruma’s quarter her window was also slightly open. Eve walked over to the window and looked outside, searching the horizon again, for some clue to the deaths.

Her head slowly bowed in disappointment, and her eyes rested on the ground. Directly underneath the window she saw a glint of something, shiny, but dull at the same time. She jumped out the window and glided the 200 or so feet to the ground, her gown floating around her. It was a finger nail, humanoid sure, but vampire, she didn’t know. Tests would have to be run. The nail was put into her pocket. She searched the ground around her, but there was nothing else to be found. From the ground she looked out to the horizon again. There has to be a path to be followed. There was no opening in the dense foliage, no footsteps in the soft soil, nor was there any lingering smell of a vampire.

After dropping off the nail to the chemist she went to town. She made sure to wear a tight fitting white dress with gold embroidery, and a plunging v-neck opening. This will get the men talking about what she wanted to hear.

The small room was already filled when she walked in. She made sure she was one of the last one to walk in, and she walked slowly to the second row. She knew that nearly all the men’s eyes were fixed on her backside, and all the women were glowering at their husbands.

“We are assembled as best we can be. The first call of order is the abandoned calf. Has anyone claimed it yet?” After a short pause “Then it shall be given to the widow Lourain, if there are no objections. The second call of order is the recent disturbances to Mr. Woodly’s field.” Eve’s ears perked. “It seems there is a wolf on the loose. It has taken one of his lambs in the last couple of days. Has anyone seen a lone lamb dead or alive?” Pause. “Keep your eyes out for it and your doors locked, at least for a while. Anyone have anything else?”

“I do.” Eve stood up and turned to face her audience, squaring her shoulders and slightly pushing out her chest. “My manor has had a recent disturbance. Two of my staff are ... missing. The first is Bruma, the second is Triste. Please remember these names.” She sniffled for effect. “If there is any information at all about what could have happened I would truly appreciate it.” Sniffle. “Have there been any strangers in town?”

After a moment’s pause a young man in his late 20’s stood up, “I don’t know about strangers ma’am, but out in the woods a couple of days ago to the north I saw firelight. It could have been coming from Cougar Cave.”

She sincerely thanked him and sat down. After most of the people had left a man in his early 30’s approached her. “I am sorry to hear about what happened. Could it have been that they were lovers and just left?”

“No, they were not lovers. They were always kind enough to let me know when they’d be gone for even a day.”

“Do you have any enemies in town?”

“To tell you the truth I don’t come to town very often. Not many of the town folk has ever even seen me. I am embarrassed to say that if it were not that my two staff members were missing I would be in my manor. I don’t believe there are any enemies of mine in town.”

“That is just very odd isn’t it?”

“Yes it is.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t speak up earlier, but there have been a couple of strangers in town. They come and go. The mistress Lucina is out sick, that’s why she wasn’t at the meeting tonight. She sold them some very fine clothes. You might want to ask her if she knows where they came from.”

“Thank you, that is very gracious of you to help me in my time of need. Could you tell me where Mistress Lucina lives? I might stop by tomorrow.”

“You’re very welcome ma’am. Mistress Lucina lives above her shop, Lucina’s Luck. Her maid will answer the door. If there is anything else, you let me know.”

“I surely will. Thank you again.”

---

Lucina wasn’t much help, she was old, and her eyesight wasn’t very good. The only thing she could tell Eve was that there were two of them. The thing that struck her about these two men was that they wore fine clothing, a different style than what she had seen. Their clothing was more rich and fine than what she made. They spoke with a heavy accent.

---

Her scouts found the lair at Cougar’s cave. There was no one there, human or vampire. Foreign clothing lay deep in the cave. The ‘strangers’ must have worn the local rich clothing to blend in with the town-folk.

---

She went back to Cain’s cell a few days later. Her strategy surprised even herself; she wanted to break this vampire, this prior Judas, this betrayer of Jesus.

Why was it so difficult? There was a thought edging at a very far corner of her mind. It had to be the smell of him. Somehow it was familiar, almost too familiar she should see through it, but familiar from so long ago that all her memories would have to be relived as to sort through everything. What could this smell be?

Her strategy this morning was going to be an experiment. She needed him unguarded, and mostly sedate. She wasn’t going to probe his mind until the exact perfect moment, though she didn’t know if he would let his guard down completely. This time the strange concoction was stronger. After letting the concoction do its job, she disrobed and tried to disrobe him. It was a little difficult since he was basically dead weight.

After trying for a few minutes she was successful. She lay on top of him so that there was as much skin touching as possible. She focused all of her energy and chanted in Druish. Of all the languages in the world, Druish was the hardest to master. One of the reasons was there were few and unwilling teachers. Druish was the most powerful language because only few people knew of it. Every single word meant something; it wasn’t watered down and it was more pure than Latin. Translated into English it would have meant “I ask the powers residing in me, I require strength to find the truth. Let me see what the beginning of his life has seen.”

She felt his body spasm under her, twice. After only a few moments of complete silence her body spasmed twice.

What she saw amazed her almost as much as knowing that he might had been Judas. He had been kings and warriors. She heard a couple of names, Alexander, Leonidas and Menes. He had worn different clothing as well, but she didn’t catch any other names. So that is why Menes, Leonidas and Alexander were so powerful, they were all him, he was a powerful vampire. She was in awe of him, and felt deep respect, because he was so much like her. Both of them were able to be powerful leaders and command many people. If the situation were different, she would ask him to join her.

She must not forget that he is still a leader, and was killing off some very powerful vampires, her vampires. With that she got up with a start. Quickly put his clothes back on him and put on her clothes before allowing herself to think of a strategy.

---

When she got to her room she redressed in light clothing. A thin tank top and light pants would do. She was exhausted, but needed to think. A small fire spat quietly and occasionally hissed, she sat in front of it. She crossed her legs, and placed her hands on her knees, turned her palms up, and lightly touched her middle finger and thumb on each hand. She closed her eyes and tried to organize her thoughts.

This man, Vampire Lord, he is powerful. A king and warrior must have strategy. The only reason he was in her dungeon was because he wanted to be there, she must believe that. He let himself be caught. None of the vampires that caught him were skilled enough to handle him. Yet he was here still. He must have known she would not have killed him. Was it possible that he only allowed her to find out this information? Did he have informants? Had he infiltrated her fortress without her knowing? Only the most trusted were told about and allowed into her hidden fortress. All others had their own residence. He certainly would not have known where to find them. Or would he? After all he was intelligent and powerful. He must have had knowledge, especially if he had been following her since King Edward’s time. He might be able to influence some of her vampires. They had relocated a couple of times, never because enemies might have known of their location, always so that they would not be found.

All the information she got from him only gave to more questions. How was she to find out what his intentions were? She needed to relax for a little bit. Clear her mind completely. This was the only way to realize her next move. Sitting up a little straighter, aligning her head to a natural position she thought about clouds parting to show a blue sky. She imagined herself rising slowly to the sky, gliding past stars and galaxies. Her mind started astro-projecting her body. No this wasn’t helping.

She was hungry.

She needed to feed.