The life of a mountain vampire ch 3

Chapter 3

The Gift



As the blood drips from Jev's stomach he could feel his heart slow with every beat.  So this is what dying feels like, he thought to himself.  His mind seemed to clear a bit, and the pain was gone.  This ain't so bad.  As he was about to surrender to death's cold embrace he could hear someone calling his name.  It wasn’t a voice he could hear from inside the theater but, surprisingly it was in his head.  The voice was soft and welcoming, like a cool breeze on a hot summer’s night.  It seemed to echo with many different voices, yet they all spoke as one.  It came from no specific direction yet seemed to be all around him.  Gathering what strength he could, and in a voice no more than a whisper he manages to speak.  "Hello.  Is anyone there?"  The returning voice was soft, like the rustling of fallen leaves.

"Hush now and be still my child.  You have been through much and need rest."  The voice spoke softly in his head.

"But who are you?"

"My name is Nioby and for now that is all that you need to know, and that I am here my child to offer you a choice."

"What do you mean?  I don’t understand."  Jev asked but silence was all he heard.  After what seemed like an eternity he manages to hold of deaths sweet release and come back to his séances. Clearing a clot of blood from his thought he yelled back into the darkness.  "Hello?  Where did you go?  Please don’t leave me, please don’t!"  A soothing breeze gently caressed his battered body as that soft voice filled his throbbing head once more.

"I am here child.  Come to me and take your rest in my arms."

Weekly he pulls against the ever tightening ropes but they still won’t move.  "But I can't move.  I'm afraid that if I do I'll fall."

"Do not fear.  If you fall, I will be here to catch you." Nioby softly replies.   

Shivering from a sudden jolt of pain he began to cry.  "How do I know you will be there to catch me?"

"Child, I have always been with you, though you could not see.  I did not leave you then, nor will I leave you now."

Feeling so weak and tired Jev let his mind slip and he fell for what seemed an eternity.  Suddenly pain shot through every part of his body as he came to.  Opening his eyes wide he screamed from the waves of pain that now washed over him.  Crying uncontrollably and shaking all over from the pain he tries to pull at the ropes, but they wouldn't budge.  He tried to stand but slipped in a large pool of blood that had collected at his feet, causing him to fall forewords.  The ropes being as tight as they were, prevented him from falling, but they didn’t prevent the pain that shot through his arms and chest.  Crying out in agony Jev yelled into the darkness.  "Where are you?  You said you would catch me if I fell."  Hearing nothing but the soft rustling of leaves as they blew across the stage he just closed his eyes as he felt the last fading beats of his heart slow and become silent.

As the sun set and the last rays of light filtered through the broken windows Jev thought to himself that this would be the last sunset that he would ever see.  Forcing himself to raise his head he just stares blankly at the windows trying to burn the image into his mind.  Slumping over he just closed his eyes and passes out from the pain and loss of blood. 

Not knowing how much time had passed since he lost consciousness, the only thing he knew was that the moon was up and a thick mist filed the theater.  Again the voices started calling his name but this time they weren’t in his head, they were all around him, as if they were coming from the mist itself.  Coughing and spitting up blood he calls out in a barely noticeable voice.  "Hello...is anyone out there?"  Shuddering from a sudden jolt of pain, he calls out into the darkness and looked around to see if anyone was there.  "Where are you?  You said that you wouldn't leave me.  Hello...Nioby are you there?"

"Hush, be still my child.  I am here as promised, I did not leave you."  Looking up he could make out what seemed to be a figure forming out of the mist in front of him.  It was tall and lean in appearance and began to take on the shape of a woman.  As the moonlight shown behind her the figure began to move towards him with arms out stretched.  "Come to me child.  Take comfort in my arms and rest."  Nioby spoke softly as she stood in front of him.

Pulling away in fear he just looks up at her, wary.  "Are....are you here to take me to the other side?"

Nioby looks down at him and caresses his cheek softly.  Shaking her head with a small laugh, she smiles at him.  "No, child, I am here to release you and offer you a choice."  She moved her hands over the cuffs that cruelly bound his wrists and instantly they broke away, causing Jev to fall limply into her waiting arms.  Sitting on the stage she pulled him onto her lap and looked down into his swollen, bleeding face, gently brushing a piece of hair from his eyes.  She smiles a sad smile.  "What was done to you is unforgivable and unjust.  I offer you the choice of eternal sleep or a new life, but the choice is yours and must be made soon."  Nioby placed her hand on his bloody chest and looked at him.  "There are but a few beats of your heart that separates you form this life and the next."

Looking up into this stranger's eyes Jev could only mutter.  "Who are you?"

Nioby only smiles and holds him closer to her.  Wrapping her arms around him, she begins rocking slowly and humming softly.  "If you choose life, then all will be revealed to you, but if you choose death, then I will walk with you until you reach the gates of your eternal home."

With what little strength he had left Jev whispers into her ear, "I choose life."  With that the last bit of life he had left began to slip away.  Closing his eyes he falls limply into this strange woman's arms. 

Smiling, she whispers into his ear, "Then it shall be yours my child."  Holding him close to her chest she closes her eyes and tilts her head to the side.  As she arched her back and pulled him closer the mist began to swirl around them as a pair of dark wings spread wide behind her.  "Child, I welcome you to the great mysteries of the night.  Be at peace and join with us, become one with the children of the night and know the joys of eternal darkness."  Leaning down she softly kisses his lips.  His heart began to beat wildly, as if it would tear itself from his chest. His back arches and he begins tossing his head from side to side as the effects of her kiss begin to take hold of him.  From the spot where she kissed him, his skin seemed to burn with an intense heat.  The burning sensation was not that of fire but of ice.  It spread through him as if it would freeze his very soul.  After a few minutes of freezing pain throughout his body, his heart stops beating and he collapses into her arms.  Hours passed as the external and internal wounds he suffered began to heal themselves.  Slowly opening his eyes he looked deep into the violet eyes of the creature that gave him another chance at life.  Her dark wings were wrapped around them as if protecting him from the outside world.  Smiling down at him she started to unfold her wings as she smiled.  "Welcome child.  Welcome to forever!" 

As her wings unfold he could see others standing around them.  At first he couldn’t make them out but their faces began to become clearer.  There were too many of them to count, some were smiling and some frowning as others whispered between themselves and pointed at him.  "Who are they?"  He asked sitting up stiffly and looking around the room to see that he was now surrounded by shifting forms and pointing gestures.

Nioby smiled and opened her arms wide. "These are my children.  They are your new brothers and sisters.  Some you already know and others you have yet to meet."  She said smiling and bowing her head to all of those gathered around before turning to face him.

"But what are they?  Please forgive me, I don’t mean to be rude or ignorant...but who, or should I ask what are you?"  Looking at her and the gathered crowed with what would seem like an expression of childish ignorance he then pulled his cap down over his face to hide his shameful question.

Nioby gives him an understanding smile and took him by the hand.  Again she sat on the stage and pulled him close to her as she began her tale.  As she spoke, Jev closed his eyes and drifted off into a deep sleep.  As he slept he could hear her voice speaking softly to him.  With each word she told of herself and her kin, and how she was one of the first true immortals to walk the earth.  She and her kind ruled over man for countless centuries, guided them, and tried to teach them the ways of the world, but with time most of them lost interest in the affairs of man.  Most of her kin had either left this life or gone into a deep seemingly endless sleep.  She told of her loneness and how she took a human as her lover.  She spoke of their love, and how over time their love had given them a child, thus was born the first vampire ever to walk the earth.  As her voice swirled around him, he learned of how the legend of vampires came to be and that some of the stories were true, while others were just made up and used to scare children into being good.  He learned that as he hunted for their existence, that in truth he was the one being hunted by them.  He learned that he was being watched to see if he was a threat to their way of life, or if he was someone who would welcome them and in turn be welcomed.  His untimely abduction and torture was what had drawn them out.  She continued their tale, of how the line had been created and traced it to its current stage.  As the tale ended and her voice began to fade he became aware of the others standing around him, closer this time than before.  Sitting up and slowly looking around he could see that he did know some of the people in the room.  They were his friends and those he had talked to online about vampires and other things. 

Looking around he first spotted Trux out of the crowd. He was a guy that he had met online and became friends with a few moths earlier.  He had taught Jev so much about how to stand up for himself and to look deep inside to see the real him.  They had talked about art and Trux had even sent him some music and drawings that he had done.  The last he had heard of the guy, he had moved from Canada and was currently living in California.  Beside him stood another familiar face just grinning down at him.  Joe, was a guy that Jev ran across in a chat room one night that was kind enough to help him find a person he was looking for.  They had talked several times after, but he would have never thought in a thousand life times that he was a vampire.

Rubbing the sleep from his eyes Jev just looked up at him confused. "Joe, is that you?  I never thought you were one too!"

Smiling he shruggs and messes with his hair.  He then helped Jev to his feet and hands him his clothes.  Looking around still in a bit of a shocked state of mind he notices another person he had gotten to know online.  "Mr. Amarose....not you too?"  he asked surprised to find this out.  Mr. Amarose was a man that had begun talking to him some time ago, and he was his source for most of his vampire knowledge.  This man would sit patiently for hours online and answer any question Jev could think of.  He had made offers for him to come and be a part of his family, but Jev never dreamed he was a real vampire.  "Sir, why didn’t you tell me that you were a vampire?  I mean a real one!"

Mr. Amarose just smiled and put his hand on Jev's shoulder.  Looking at him he shook his head understandingly.  "I did tell ya bro.  You just weren’t ready for the whole truth.  Now that you have joined our little family I suspect that we will be seeing a lot more of each other."

Confused and still a bit tired, Jev begins to get dressed, still looking around at all of the faces that he knew.  How could they be here?  He thought to himself.  Some of the people in the building with him were the very same one's that told him it was a waist of time thinking about vampires, that they didn’t really exist and that he should stop looking for them.  Yet here they were, vampires themselves! 

The clock in the town hall began to chime.  "Oh no, what time is it?  Mom's gonna kill me!"  He went to look at his watch and remembered that Kevin had taken it just after he was tied up.  Rubbing his wrist he walks back over to where he had been bound.  Kneeling down he picked up the bloody handcuffs that had so cruelly held his wrists and ankles.  He stuffed them into the backpack as he walked to the side of the stage where Nioby was standing.  "Ma-am, how can I ever thank you for saving me tonight?  I don't have any money and I can't think of anything that could ever be enough to give you."

She simply smiles and kissed him on the cheek.  "There is nothing I want from you.  I freely gave you the gift that you have so longed searched for.”  Her soft look turns to a stern one, as she places her hand on his left shoulder.  "You must remember one thing however. What is given can in turn be taken if missed used."  Having said this, she smiles once again and spread her wings.  All that was heard as she glided past was the softness of her laughter and the rustling of the leaves that covered the floor. 

Turning around to talk to the others, Jev found himself once again alone in the theater.  As he picked up his pack and started walking out the door he trips and falls.  Looking at his feet he noticed that one of his shoe laces had come untied again.  Looking at the lace he just laughs as he retied it tighter this time.  “Well, I guess I was right.  You did get me in trouble didn’t ya?  Man, I have to start wearing sandals or just go barefoot for now on."  As he gets back up he shoulders his backpack, finally ready to head back home.

As he reached the bottom of the hill he noticed that the lights were still on at his parent's house. 
Having lost his keys in the theater somewhere, he knocks on the door and waits for someone to
answer.  When his mom opens the door she just looks at him with her hands on her hips.  "Where
have you been all night?  I have been worried sick over you!  What happened to your cloths? 
They’re a mess." 

He just shrugges his shoulders and looked at the ground kicking his foot back and forth, causing
small puffs of dust to drift about.  "Oh nothin much, my shoe came untied and I kinda fell and got
a  bit scratched up is all.  It's nothin really, promise."

Shaking her head she just gives him one of those long mom type looks.  Ya know the one where
she knows more has happened than has been told, but won’t ask for the truth.  "Well just get on
home and clean yourself up.  And throw them shoes away if they’re gonna be causing you that
much trouble."

Smiling, he nodes and looks up from under his cap, "Yes ma-am."  He was relieved that she didn’t
ask anything else or tried to get him to talk about it.  After all, it wasn’t unusual for him to come
home all scratched up and bleeding.  She knew he took shortcuts that sometimes led him through
the woods and past brier bushes and thorn trees. Even though he was only eighteen and still in
school he didn’t live with his folks.  His brother had given him his house when he got married and
moved out into a larger one.  When he finally got home he tossed his pack in the chair and walked
into the kitchen.  "Cleo! Where are ya girl?”  She was sitting on the counter waiting for him to feed
her, as he opened the cat food Merlin, Momo, and Monster came running in to eat too.  While they
were eating, Jev grabbed a bite to eat himself and walked into the bathroom and starts running the
water for a long over due shower.  He wasn’t actually hungry, but for some reason he thought that
it might help. After all it had been almost two days since he had eaten.  After tossing his clothes in
the washer he stretched out on the bed and just looked at the ceiling for a bit, letting what had
happened the night before run over and over through his head.  "Well, this aint gonna get me any
cleaner now is it."  Getting up he climbed into the shower and started washing the grime and dried
blood from his hair.  While still all soapy and dripping he reached out and turned the c.d. player on. 
After a song or two had played and he had rinsed the soap out of his eyes the song Closer came
on.  His eyes grow wide and his heart started beating wildly as the memory of what had happened
truly washed over him for the first time.

All he could do was curl up as tight as he could and try to be as small as possible in the corner of
the shower.  Covering his head with his arms, he started crying and whispering.  "No more, please,
I’m sorry, no more."  Though he knew no one was there he stayed in that position until the song
had played and the c.d. stopped.  After getting out of the shower and making sure that there was
no one
there but him and the cat's he climbed onto the center of the bed and pulled his knees up under
his
chin.  With the lights off he sat there rocking and trying not to think about the pain he had suffered
or the humiliation that they had put him through. 

As the thoughts came back to him, and the sounds of their laughter filled his ears he started crying
and shaking all over.  With that sudden emotional shift his heart began beating faster and his head
began to throb.  Holding his head in his hands he started to double over in pain.  It was as if all the
bones in his body were trying to rearrange themselves, pushing and pulling in all directions.  After
a few minutes the pain eased and he sat back up on his knees.  As his heart rate began to slow,
he noticed that his gums and teeth were starting to ach a bit.  As he ran his tongue across his
teeth he could feel them changing.  It was strange, the cavities he had filled, and the tooth that
was missing seemed to be growing back in.  As he ran his fingers across his lower teeth one of
them was cut on his canines.  Walking into the bathroom he looked in the mirror and before his
eyes he watched as his upper canines started to grow.  "What tha......?  I must be dreaming!" 
Pulling at his upper and lower lips he stretched them, trying to see if there are any other unseen
surprises going on in his mouth.

Climbing back on the bed he grabs his cap and just sits there running his tongue over his new
teeth, trying to make some séance out of the whole nights happenings.  His shoulders started to
itch and as he arched his back to scratch them a cold flush seemed to rush over him.  The feeling
was so cool and calming, as if he was standing in front of a freezer that had been left open on a
hot summer’s day.  Closing his eyes and tilting his head to the side, he could feel his shoulder
bones pop a bit and begin to stretch.  The feeling was strange, but not upsetting, more like
something natural and familiar.  Leaning forward he rested his head on the bed and arches his
back as far as he could.  As he did this a pair of wings began to unfold from his shoulders.  A few
minutes pass and he sitst up looking over his right shoulder.  Now this is cool!  He thought smiling. 
Putting his hands behind his head, he stretches and pops the bones along his spine, allowing his
new wings to stretch and flex.    Looking over his shoulder he frownes.  "Humm, a bit small ain't
they?  I don’t see what use they could be.  I don’t see how I can fly with these."

The soft sound of laughter caught his hear.  "You do not need them for flying child.  You do not
need wings to do that."  Looking over his shoulder he sees that Nioby was standing behind him in
the doorway of his room.  Grabbing a pillow he covers himself and just sits there with his cap
pulled over his eyes, smiling embarrassed.  She gives him a twinkling laugh and walks over to sit
on the corner of his bed.

"Ma-am I didn't know you were here.  I never got the chance to thank you, properly I mean."

She softly smiles at him and gently caresses his cheek. "There is no need of thanks.  You have
spent so much time believing and looking for us.  You will make a good addition to our family.  I
have heard good reports of you from those you have met online, and from those who you know
here.  They like you and bade me to invite you."

With an embarrassed smile Jev looks at the bed and pulls more covers around him.  She just
smiles and looks away.  "I thank you.  But if I don’t need wings to fly, then why do I have them? 
Do all vampires have wings or just me?"

"No, not all of them have wings.  You have them because you have envisioned yourself with them. 
Your friends Joe and Trux don't have wings...nor does Mr. Amarose."

"So I really don’t need them?"

Nioby smiles and shakes her head.  Looking over his shoulder he folds his wings against his back
and watches as they fade back into his skin.  Confused and a bit upset he looks over to her and
just stares.  Holding back a laugh she reaches out and caresses his cheek smiling.  "No worries
child.  They will be there whenever you want them to be...as are mine."  With wide eyes and a
smile he watches as she stands before him and unfolds her beautiful dark wings.  Sitting back on
the bed beside him she wraps her wings about them and holds him close to her.  "Child you have
so much to learn and so many willing teachers.  But for now you should rest and try to sleep. 
You now have the time you need to regain your strength and plan what you will do next."  Closing
his eyes he started to drift off to sleep as she pulled the covers over him and softly kisses him on
the forehead.  Then she was gone, only a soft breeze remained where she had been.

He slept though the next day.  The phone was the only thing that woke him with its incessant
ringing.  Answering it with a hateful grunt he soon found out that it was his mom on the other end
wondering if he was okay because she hadn't seen him all day.  He rubes his eyes and states that
he was okay, just tired.  She  again stated her worries and asked him if he would be down later for
dinner.

Before she hung up, she instructed him in a not so gentle voice not to answer the phone in that
tone of voice again. Letting out a long yawn, he says that he wasn't hungry, and he would grab a
bite to eat later.  She said her goodbyes and asks him not to stay in bed all day and hangs up the
phone.  Rolling over he yawns again and pulls back the curtain and looks outside.  The sun was
just about to slip over the mountain and there were a few clouds to obscure the sky.  "Looks like
it's gonna be a clear night....a nice night for a bit of fun."  He laughs to himself. 

After getting up and feeding the cats, he grabs a bite to eat, again out of habit rather than hunger
and walked out on the porch to watch the sunset.  Jev checks his email and after saying hi to
some people online he heads off to take a long soothing shower.  Closing his eyes he leanes
against the wall and lets the warm water run down his back.  As it flows over him he could feel
his cares and worries seem to wash away.  After a good long soak he climbs out and dries off. 
He puts a c.d. on he heads for his room humming along with the music.  Swaying along to one
of the songs and biting on his lower lip he starts looking through his closet for something to wear. 
He picks out some clothes and throws them on the bed.  He figures that if he was going to have
some fun tonight, that they needed to be comfortable and easy to move in.  He picks a pair of
loose denim shorts, rolled up to just above the knee, a white tank top, a black belt, and of course
his blue denim cap.  Also this time he didn't wear any shoes, he figured why take the chance with
laces that never seemed to stay tied.  After all that’s what got him into trouble in the first place. 
After getting dressed he combs out his hair and braids it up, pulling it back through the cap to keep
it out of his face. Fastening a pair of silver hoop earrings in the top of his ears, he lets the cats out
and follows them onto the porch.  Sitting there he watches as the moon came out and wondered
what it was going to be like to actually fly.  Well, this ain't getting me anywhere now is it?  I have
things to do and best get at it!  He thought to himself. 

Standing up he pulls the cuffs that Kevin had used on him out of his pocket.  Breaking the chain
that ran between them he put one on each wrist and one on each ankle, and then climbs up onto
the part of the roof that faces town.  The moon was full and bright, he decided to let it guide him to
his night’s fun.  Feeling a burning sensation on his right arm near the shoulder, Jev watches as a
symbol began to appear and take the shape of a circle with three triangles intertwined in it.  What
is this?  He thought to himself tracing along the design with his finger. 

Nioby's voice came with the soft whisper of the wind.  "This is the mark of my house child.  Wear
it proudly and know that I am always with you if you should ever need me."  Like that her voice
was gone.  He thanked the wind for carrying her sweet message to his ears and climbed to the
highest part of the roof.  Once there he spread his wings and looked out towards town.

Now Kevin it's my turn to play!