The Nameless: Chapters 19-24

CHAPTER 19

Madia lunged at Nuri, but he was too weak to even move. “Barely any sport!” She hissed. She grasped his head by his hair, raising his neck. She used her talons to create tiny punctures at even spaces along his neck. The anti-coagulant venom in her system immediately went to work and blood poured from the wounds, as well as from the wounds inflicted by Cauchemar. Blood poured freely from his eyes, nose, mouth and ears. I was sickened by the sight, and turned into Lorian’s embrace. He wrapped his arms around me, and leaned his head over me, not wanting to watch the destruction of his one-time friend either. Nuri began to scream, really scream, begging for his life. I turned to look and gasped, my body jerking back against Lorian’s. Nuri was tinged blue from head to toe, his lips and eyes had taken on a violet hue. Madia stood over him, allowing drops of the anti-coagulant to drip into his open mouth. He was choking and gagging. His frame had become almost skeletal as the last of his blood emptied itself onto the carpet. Finally his head laid down and he screamed no more. Cauchemar looked up at me and then walked over to me. He took his finger and ran it up my cheek, catching tears I hadn’t even known were falling. “Sorrow for this creature that tried to murder and rape you, cara mia? I’m surprised.” I slapped his hand away and tried to walk away, but he grabbed me by the arm. “Leave!” he said, looking at everyone in the room. “And dispose of that!” he ordered. Everyone quickly did as he asked. Lorian shot me a worried glance as he shut the door behind him. He grabbed my other arm and shook me. “Why? Why do you constantly fight me?” The throbbing in my head began again, his emotions were out of control, so that everyone, vampire or not, could pick up on them. He suddenly seemed to sense what he was doing, tossed me to the ground and went blank instantly. “Because of what has happened this day, I will allow you to retire to your room, but tomorrow we begin in earnest. You will continue my story as your ancestors began it. Here!” He said, tossing a book at my feet. He turned and slammed out of the room. I stood and dusted myself off, picked up the book, and mindful of the blood staining the carpet, walked carefully around it and out the door.

Chapter 20

Lorian stood there looking worried. I couldn’t find the right words to say to relieve his worries, so I just smiled and let him walk me back to my room. The rain had stopped, so I opened the French doors to let in a breeze. I laid the book on the bed and from the armoire I gathered a long-sleeved nightdress and underwear and walked into the bathroom. I turned the water as hot as I could stand it and let the tub fill, adding honey-and-almond bubble bath. I undressed and slid into the tub, the heat instantly beginning to loosen my tensed muscles. A knock on the door after a few moments made me look up. “May I come in?” It was Lorian. “Yes.” I called, being sure to move bubbles up to cover my breasts. He opened the door and peeked in slowly. He saw that I was about as decent as I could get, so he came in all the way, closing the door behind him. “That is the most unsettled I have ever felt him. It worries me. I don’t think he is very stable. He has never allowed his power to escape like that.” “Well he’s never been faced with a “viper” before either.” I said, and he laughed. “Indeed.” He walked over and sat on the side of the tub, flicking his fingers in the hot water. He leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. He looked so peaceful. I wished that we could stay like this forever. His hand drooped into the water and I nearly jumped when I felt it wrap around my foot. “Wh-what are you doing?” I asked. He just grinned and began massaging my foot. “Oh my god!” I moaned. “Don’t stop, that feels wonderful!” He simply grinned evilly, but continued his ministrations. “Lorian?” “Hmmm?” he said, not looking up from his massage of my foot. “Why didn’t you tell me that you were working for Cauchemar?” I shifted in the tub as he hit a particularly sore spot. “Wh-why did I have to find out when you saved me from being a meal?” He sighed and placed my foot back in the hot water. I groaned and stretched back against the tub. He leaned into the water and grabbed my other foot, dipping his now-bare feet into the water. I hadn’t even seen him remove his boots. He massaged as he spoke, not looking me in the eyes. “Because I was forbidden to tell you. Cauchemar swore if I told you anything about him, besides the rumors and things you’d already heard, that he would snatch you away from me and I would never be allowed near you again. Everything we’d worked toward would be destroyed.” He looked so distressed that I hurried to console him. “It’s alright Lorian, I had simply wondered. And I know how much this means to you. You forget that I’ve read your chronicles too, or what you remember, anyways. You're hoping that somehow the things I've read and come across will unlock the secrets in your mind; that I'll find out who you were before you were turned.” I remembered then about Lorian. He, like several vampires I had met previously, had lost the memories of who they were when they were changed. Especially if it was a violent changing, memories were ripped away, replaced with sheer nothingness. Lorian could have had a wife, children, lovers. He could have been rich, poor, homeless, a vagabond. A sinner or a saint. He does not remember, but he hopes that someone does. I sighed once more as he hit just the right spot on that foot. I leaned back against the tub again, allowing my hand to trail out of the water. Apparently between the foot massage and the hot water, I drifted off, because the next thing I was aware of was being lifted from the tub, dried off and the nightdress pulled over my head. Lorian kissed me lightly on the forehead and then on the lips, and turned to walk away. I grabbed his hand in mine. “No.” I said softly, still half asleep. “What, Corazon?” “Stay. Here. With me.” I said, scooting over so that there was plenty of room. He sighed. “I really shouldn’t, Little One.” “I know. But what’s the fun in following all the rules?” I giggled. He crawled into the bed behind me, and I turned and snuggled into his arms and slept, dreamlessly for once.

Chapter 21

I woke slowly, and once again to the brightness of sunshine on my face. Lorian sat at the bottom of the bed, facing me, watching me. I smiled at him. “Good morning.” I said, pushing pillows behind me to where I was in a half-sitting position. “Good morning, Little one. Sleep well?” “Very. Apparently my bed grew arms that kept me safe and warm last nite.” I laughed lightly. He grinned back at me, his fangs making the smile only a bit eerie. I think after all this time, I was finally becoming more and more used to him being around. “Did you dream last nite, Corazon?” he asked, looking at me strangely. “No, no dreams at all. I was surprised.” I yawned, stretched and threw the covers back to get up and dressed. Lorian simply sat there, watching me. I walked in front of him to get to the armoire, and he grabbed me by my good wrist, and pulled me into his lap. He wrapped his arms around me and I let myself relax in his arms, knowing he wouldn’t hurt me. “I cannot do this much longer, Corazon.” He whispered into my ear, his head resting on my shoulder. I turned into his embrace and stroked his hair. "I feel I am going to lose my mind. If I do not find out who I am, who created me, who I was. I am adrift, nothing to hold on to, nothing to catch me.” I felt wetness on my nightdress. Lorian was crying! I took his hand in mine and kissed the palm. “Now you have something to hold on to. I will find your answers Lorian, even if it’s my last Chronicle, I will find your answers.” He smiled weakly, but gripped my hand as well, kissing it right back. I pulled his hair back from his face, kissed him softly on the cheek and gathered a pair of boot-cut jeans and a pale green sweater from the closet, clothes that I recognized as my own. I looked up before I began to undress and found that Lorian was already gone. Probably waiting outside for me to finish dressing. I quickly pulled on the clothes, then walked to the bathroom to brush my hair, then quickly wet the brush, ran it through my hair again and braided it, the hip-length mass tamed for a short while. Those curls never stayed in a braid for long. Once they dried, they’d become unruly again. I gathered the book Cauchemar had given me last night, carrying it with me to the door. When I opened it, I saw that I had been right, Lorian stood there, waiting for me. We walked side by side down the stairs and I noticed that several vampires were looking at us, me, strangely. “Lorian?” I whispered. He just shook his head, he didn’t know any more than I did. A female vampire came up to us. “Forgive me, Lorian. Chronicler. But the master has asked that I escort you to a different location than the study. He didn’t want your delicate nature upset by the bloodstains in the carpet. Please, follow me.” She said and turned, walking toward another staircase. “Delicate nature?” Both Lorian and I laughed. But I nodded to him and followed the vampire. “What’s your name?” I asked her, making conversation while we walked. “My name is Celesta, Chronicler.” She said quietly. She didn’t speak after that, and I didn’t make the effort to encourage her. I simply followed where she led. She finally stopped in front of a door. “Knock, Chronicler, and when he’s ready he will tell you to enter.” And she hurried away. I simply looked as she walked away for a moment, then straightened my shoulders and knocked. After a few moments I heard Cauchemar’s voice. “Enter, Chronicler.” I opened the door to find Cauchemar sitting on a desk, stacks of books and plexi-glass plated documents stacked beside him. “Sit, please.” He said, sweeping his arm to show me a high-backed leather chair behind the desk. I noticed a brand-new laptop computer sat there as well, on and blank, waiting for me to begin. Cauchemar stood as I went to walk to the chair and I then noticed that he was wearing a button-up shirt, with only the center button buttoned, as well as a pair of tight leather pants. I placed the book on the desk and he came up behind me, rubbing against my back, bring his arms up and around to trail along the sides of my breasts. “Can I help you?” I asked. “Just showing you what I want you to start with, my dear.” He stepped back and I sat down in the chair. He leaned over me, a lock of his silver hair touching my face. He pulled an ancient piece of papyrus encased in plexi-glass to the front of the stack, laying it carefully in front of me. I scanned it quickly and began typing. “I don’t understand some of these symbols, but from what I understand, it says that a group of bandits were attacking a temple dedicated to Bastet, the great cat goddess and were murdering the priests, stealing the offerings. One night, the bandits arrived to find the temple empty, they themselves were slain by a creature of the night. One that the other priests say was created by Bastet to protect them. But after a while, the creature began attacking the priests themselves, and Bastet ordered the creature from her sight, never to be allowed in her presence again.” I sat back, the images, the dreams from the other night flashing before my eyes. I had seen the change. I had seen the first vampire come into being. Cauchemar was indeed the first. Damn! “Close enough. It has been so long that even I myself have trouble remembering the symbols, deciphering the ancient writing.” He pulled forth another piece of plexi-encased crumbling paper. “After being cast out, I slept for a few centuries. When I awoke, I began to adapt to the times.” I wrote that he had slept for several centuries and then had rejoined the world. We continued in this fashion for several hours, him bringing forth a page and I would read it and record it in the computer, him helping me along with words that I couldn’t make out. The languages varied, from Greek and Roman, to Italian, French, Spanish, even some Portuguese. Not until the 1500’s did he switch over to English, with the occasional French and Italian thrown in, for at the time, he was as wealthy as any nobleman. Only once did I find any mention of Madia, in a journal he’d written in about 1650. He spoke of her as his ‘eternal companion’. “Like me, she will never die. She has the same thirst for blood, though passionate in body, not as much for the blood as I am. On occasion I send her away, but she always returns. I suppose that soon I shall tire of her, but until then, I enjoy her charms and voracious appetite for all things that this overly political time considers evil.” He spoke candidly of everything, from the murder of those Romans who had betrayed him, “Cowardly pigs. They too enjoyed the rape of those women, they shed their blood as quickly and easily as myself, lapping it from their bodies, hoping that by some false reasoning that they would be blessed with the same powers I had been given.” As well as the Carnival Masquerade I had dreamed of. “Elizabetta Cordina. She was to have been mine. The child bride of an eternally young and handsome husband. I suppose that eventually I would have turned her. Before the ravages of age and disease had destroyed her beauty. But no, her parents decided to let her have her come-out and allow her to choose her own husband. And who does she pick but that annoying, pompous ass, Declan St. Clair. Well I took care of that haughty little bitch. Her and her family and everyone in that bloody hellhole. I sent my minions in, disguised of course. They were allowed to kill all but HER. She was mine. And I took her. Her innocence as well as her life. And then I burned that bitch to the ground.” I stopped typing when I noticed water splashing onto the screen. I looked down. It was my tears, falling from my eyes onto the keyboard and splashing onto the screen. “I saw it.” I said softly. “What, Cara Mia?” “I saw it, I saw it all. What you did to them!” I cried, pushing back the chair. As I went to walk around the desk to leave, he grabbed me by my shoulders. He used his thumbs to wipe away my still-falling tears. “It is over and done with, girl!” It happened centuries ago! There is nothing left.” But even as he said it, I could feel the wrongness in that statement. “You lie.” He stepped back, almost in shock. “How dare you!” he shouted, and slapped me across the face. The force felt as though it had knocked me loose from my consciousness. His thoughts, his memories poured into my head like an eerie whispering. “Lorian, he knows the truth of Lorian. Ask him. Ask him about Lorian.” “Lorian!” I whispered.

Chapter 22

I shook my head, trying to clear my dazedness and I saw the enormous painting behind Cauchemar. It was a very old painting, of the girl, Elizabetta. I looked back and forth between Cauchemar and the girl’s portrait. I noticed several other paintings scattered about the room. Some were even older than the one of Elizabetta. One was of Cauchemar with Madia sitting next to him, gazing longingly into his eyes. In each of the portraits I noticed certain features seemed the same. Their eyes were all a dark honey-brown, their hair a lovely-oaken color or a brilliant auburn color. The facial shapes, though varying slightly, were all reminiscent of Cauchemar’s. “Oh my god. They’re your family.” I cried, trying to sit up. “Hmmm? Oh, yes. Them, and many others. I’m sure you remember Dr. Lorrington, my dear?” Cauchemar said, hitting a small button on the desk that I hadn’t noticed the entire time I sat there. A panel in the wall opened and I could see light beyond it. Suddenly a man stepped forward, backlit by the brilliant fluorescent lighting. “Hello again, my dear.” I nodded at him. “Lorrington.” Cauchemar walked behind me and picked me up, holding me steady for a moment before letting go of me. But he continued to stand behind me, and pushed me forward into the hidden panel. It closed silently behind us. The room we entered was as sterile as any operating room I had ever seen. “Meet another member of my family, my dear.” Cauchemar said, pointing at Lorrington. “Drake developed an intense interest in genetics when he found me one evening, watching him, as I watch over many of my family members. And as you can see, he has taken an intense interest in genealogy as well.” He pointed to an enormous book, thousands upon thousands of pages, thousands upon thousands of names. Tracing back generations, to Cauchemar, and his brother. “Brother?” I was shocked. “Indeed. I was placed in the priesthood by my family, my brother to inherit what little we possessed. After I was changed, I kept track of his offspring, and the two bastards I had had before entering the priesthood. I made sure that with the wealth I gathered over the years that they married well, were taken care of. But as more and more were born they became harder to keep track of, so I allowed myself to drift and to sleep for a few centuries. When I awoke, I was powerful, and could locate them easily. Just the scent of myself in their blood. But I was no longer in their memories.” “Elizabetta. You knew she was a descendant of yours and yet you would have married her? Turned her?” I was disgusted. “You forget my dear, how often my people, those very ancient Egyptians who fascinated you so as a child, often made wives of their sisters, or close female relatives. It would have made very little difference to me other than the fact that she was perfect. A perfect blending of my genes.” I moved the pages forward and was shocked to find the name Jeremy Tavington. “My Grandfather. So I am also a descendent of yours?” I asked. “Indeed. One of the smarter sides of the family. And perhaps something more.” He said, and I became uneasy at the sound of his voice. He suddenly grabbed me and held me down on one of the metal tables in the room. He ripped away my pants and underwear. I screamed again, louder. “What are you doing?” Lorrington strapped my feet into stirrups. Cauchemar held me securely while Lorrington inserted a metal instrument inside me and took swabs. A pap smear? Lorrington hurried to a desk with a microscope on it. He muttered to himself for a few moments before turning to Cauchemar. “She is the one.” “The one what?” I shrieked, looking back and forth between them.

Chapter 23

Suddenly a loud pounding was heard on the other side of the panel. “Damn!” said Cauchemar. Lorrington hurried over and jammed a syringe in my neck. “OW!” I shrieked, and reached up and smacked him. “Bitch!” he cried. “What was that!” I screamed at him. He just grinned. “A very powerful sedative.” “Oh great, more knock..out..drugs.” My eyelids fluttered closed. I could still hear them talking. “She’s out, Master.” “Good. And the test showed that she’s fertile?” “Yes. Fertile and ready. And her genes match those of your dear Elizabetta. Too bad she doesn’t have more of Elizabetta’s gently disposition though.” “If she had Elizabetta’s flighty disposition, she wouldn’t be my chronicler. And she’d probably be dead by now.” Chastened, Lorrington said only, “Yes, Master.” “And you’ve figured out how to re-energize my sperm? Bring them back to life long enough to fertilize?” “Yes, Master, a simple enough solution. You continue to take those pills I gave you, and within a week more, you can create children to carry on your name.” “And no indication of Tepes Syndrome?” “None whatsoever.” “Excellent.” Tepes Syndrome? Oh shit! Tepes syndrome was a genetic disorder passed on sometimes by vampire males who’d only been dead a short time. They could fertilize their human female partners’ eggs, but sometimes the children were born deformed, unable to feed either from milk or blood. Hospitals had tried using both substances, even a mix of the two in feeding tubes, but nothing worked and the children died, often after only a few days. Cauchemar thought he was gonna impregnate me? Oh hell no! Suddenly the pounding from before resumed. Was someone searching for me already? “Keep her here, keep her quiet!” Cauchemar said in a deadly voice to Lorrington. “Done, Master, with that dosage, she’ll be out for quite a while.” I heard the panel open and shut and heard voices after it closed. “Master, we felt something coming from the room is everything alright?” came a feminine voice. That was Celesta. “Everything is fine, Celesta, you may leave now.” “Yes, Master.” “NO!” I thought. “No! Don’t leave, Celesta, don’t leave!” I heard a door shut, and then the panel opened again. “Order Saulero to take her back to her room. And watch him. If he so much as looks at her inappropriately I’ll kill him. If anyone asks, she got a migraine so you gave her a strong sedative. Allow Lorian to watch her. Much as he’s attached to her, I still trust him.” “Yes master.” The panel clicked shut. I felt myself being lifted. How were they gonna walk me through the villa with no one noticing that I was only in a sweater? Evidently there must have been more secret passageways because I heard no one else and next I knew I was being laid on a soft bed. My bed, I could still smell the scent of Lorian where he’d slept beside me. “Lorian!” I thought. “Where are you?” I felt someone undressing me, yanking the sweater off of my body, then pulling a light nightdress over my head and yanking it around my hips. “All right, Saulero, let’s go. Tell Lorian to come watch over her.” “Yes, sir.” Came a deep voice. The door shut. A short while later the door opened again. I felt the bed dip and then I was pulled against a hard chest. I breathed deeply. Lorian. I sighed, and he began to stroke my hair. “Sleep, Corazon. Sleep. No more pain. Only sleep.” And eventually I did sleep, the sedative finally taking me down.

Chapter 24

I awoke slowly, my brain fuzzy, my mouth tasting as though I’d been eating ashes. I choked once and a glass was immediately at my lips, water flowing into my parched mouth. “Easy, Little one, easy. Sip, don’t gulp.” Lorian’s voice was calming, comforting. Oh how I wished I could wrap myself in the gentleness of that voice. I opened my eyes to see Lorian looking right into my eyes. He looked so worried. “What’s wrong?” I asked. “You’ve been unconscious for three days.” He said. “How do you feel?” “Sore. Didn’t anyone move me or did I just lay in one spot the entire time?” I asked, rubbing my neck. Lorian looked upset. “You cried every time I tried to move you, so I left you lay in one spot.” He was so upset, I was afraid he’d start pacing, so I grabbed his arm and pulled him to me. “Shhhh.” I stroked his hair this time. “You scared me, Corazon. Never have I heard you cry like that. As though you were in absolute terror.” He laid beside me and wrapped his arms around me while I continued to play with his hair. I felt like I should remember something, but couldn’t. There was a barrier there. “Would you like me to run you a bath, Corazon? I know you will want one after three days in the same clothes. I will have someone come and chance the bedclothes, bring fresh linens and pillows.” “That would be wonderful.” I said, pulling aside the covers. I noticed a large bruise on my thigh. “Wonder where that came from?” I asked myself. I pulled the nightdress back down around my ankles, and stood, a little wobbly from being in bed and unconscious for so long. I sat back down on the bed while Lorian ran the water, almost dozing. “Ready, Little One.” He said, then noticing how tired I still was, He picked me up and carried m bridal style into the bathroom. He stood me up and pulled the gown over my head, loosened my braid, and finger-combed my hair out. I thought I heard him utter a low groan when he played with my hair, but it was quickly silenced. He carefully slid me into the water. I sighed and curled my toes in the water. It felt so wonderful, that I simply laid back and enjoyed the heat permeating my body. I nearly jumped when Lorian took a cloth and began lathering it with soap and took my arm and wiped the cloth across it. I sat there and let him wash me, not moving, not even blushing as I usually would have done. I just watched him watching me. When he reached my neck he kneeled behind the tub and lathered his hands and used them to massage my neck and shoulders. I moaned in delight. He had hit the spot where I was the most sore. I took one of his soapy hands in mine and kissed it. “You have the most amazing hands, Lorian.” I said softly, not realizing really what I was saying. I heard him growl low in his throat but didn’t connect it to what I’d said. I released his hand and he continued to massage, the he suddenly dunked me under the water. I came up sputtering. “What the hell was that for?!” I shrieked. He simply laughed, and poured a dollop of shampoo into his palm. “So I could wash your hair, Corazon.” “Oh.” I said grumpily. “You could have at least warned me!” He laughed again and began washing my hair, using his long fingers to expertly massage my scalp. “Oh my god, you’re so hired.” “I beg your pardon?” He asked. “Inside joke. When I was little, whenever my mother would do something particularly well, my father would say, ‘You’re so hired’ as if offering her that job forever.” He chuckled. “I’ll take the job.” He said and winked at me. I giggled myself, then almost choked as he once again pushed me under the water. “Dammit, warn me when you’re gonna do that!” I shrieked at him when I could breathe again without choking. He slipped backwards and landed on his backside laughing. I splashed water at him, hitting him in the face. “Why you!” he said jokingly-menacingly. I slid as far back in the tub as I could, daring him to come after me. He stood over the tub, reaching down for me, I grabbed his shirt, overbalancing him, pulling him down into the tub on top of me. Water splashed onto the floor in a flood, and Lorian and I just sat there laughing. Then he suddenly grabbed my face and kissed me.