A Soldier of Shadows
Page 43
“How did they contaminate all that blood?”
“With an insidious poison that they obtained from the merfolk. There are a number of venomous species that inhabit the deep waters surrounding The Cove. They invaded the merfolk’s home temporarily until they’d farmed enough of the poison.”
“So the Hawks destroyed their army of vessels along with all their blood—”
“But all this came at a price, of course,” Hortencia interrupted. “In achieving this, the Hawks lost most of their own army. Their greatest leaders and strongest warriors… except Arron himself. Arron survived, although gravely injured. The Elders, although technically still living, are also greatly weakened, and without blood, or any vessels that they could use to procure more, those spirits retreated into their mountains, debilitated, where they still remain today.”
I was so engrossed in what Hortencia was telling me, hanging onto her every word, I was forgetting to breathe.
“Now you’re wondering what all of this has to do with you,” she said. “Well, it has everything to do with you.” She paused, blowing against the surface of her hot water, before taking a small sip. Then, picking up the cup in her hands, she began to pace slowly up and down the small room. “Before the war, the Elders knew what the Hawks intended to do in order to vanquish them. They knew they were after their vessels and blood. It was for this reason that one of the leaders—Basilius, as some call him—saw the opportunity to infect your soul, imprint on you so that he could inhabit you, and then he did… a little more than that. I should say, a lot more than that… He bonded himself with you.”
My voice caught in my throat. “What?”
“He created a link between your soul and his. A link that could make you feel his presence, no matter how far apart you might be.”
My head spun. “Y-You’re telling me, all this time, since days after my birth, an Elder has been… present inside me?”
“Indeed. Since the day that Elder touched you as a newborn, the bond he forged has remained deep within you.”
“That makes no sense! How could I have not known? How could I have not sensed his presence?”
The oracle smiled a little. “But I think that you have sensed him, haven’t you? You see, boy, the Elder himself is not physically inside of you. He has been too weak to actually fully possess you, and besides, he is still in Cruor. But he created a window into your soul. A window through which he is able to touch you… and you have felt his presence. He manifests himself most strongly after you’ve made a kill. You’ve felt his presence closing in on you after you’ve murdered. That’s the very reason that you went to The Oasis to begin with—so that you wouldn’t have to kill in order to get human blood. Am I not right?”
My mind reeled as her words sank in.
It did make sense. Too much sense for comfort.
“A-And I can only stomach human blood—”
“Because that’s what your stomach is meant to consume. Your stomach is meant to be his stomach.”
My heart skipped a beat.
“And I… I couldn’t turn back into a human—”
“That’s right,” the oracle replied. “Because you are not meant to turn back. The Elder has claimed you as his own, and it’s his influence that is keeping you as a vampire.”
Horror filled me. “Can he read my thoughts?”
“Occasionally, I’m sure, and that will only increase with time,” she replied.
“With time? Why is he even bonded with me to begin with? What good will his presence within me do for him?”
“You are his lifeline, Benjamin. With every mouthful of human blood that you swallow, you are nursing him back to health. The bond he created with you means he can benefit from the blood you consume. His weakened soul is being revived. Strengthened. Your feeding is his feeding…”
I sat, gaping at the woman.
“You’ve been downing human blood for some months now,” she continued. “It won’t be much longer now until the scale tips and he becomes strong enough.”
“Strong enough for what?” I breathed.
“Strong enough to manipulate your actions even when you’re not under the influence of bloodlust… Strong enough to call you back to him in Cruor. I believe you are only days away from it.”
“And do what with me exactly?”
“Well, once one of those creatures has gained strength—especially one as influential as Basilius—it becomes easier for the others to recover too. Especially with your help.”
I racked my brain to recall the stories my parents had recounted to me of when the Elders had taken over The Shade. If I remembered right, Corrine had managed to exorcise a number of Elders from our people. And Odelia, the Ageless at the time, had freed my mother from the grasp of one of them.
“So now I know about his influence over me,” I said, trying to steady my voice, “I just need a witch to help me get rid of it.”
My heart sank to the pit of my stomach as the oracle shook her head. “I’m afraid the situation is much more… subtle than that,” she replied. “Because the Elder’s presence has been with you your whole life—practically since the day you were born—he has become ingrained in your system… almost one with you. He has been with you far too long for any spell to be effective. And I should warn you that any such attempt to exorcise him with magic could have fatal consequences for you—especially because, as I said, his soul currently remains safely in Cruor.”
“With an insidious poison that they obtained from the merfolk. There are a number of venomous species that inhabit the deep waters surrounding The Cove. They invaded the merfolk’s home temporarily until they’d farmed enough of the poison.”
“So the Hawks destroyed their army of vessels along with all their blood—”
“But all this came at a price, of course,” Hortencia interrupted. “In achieving this, the Hawks lost most of their own army. Their greatest leaders and strongest warriors… except Arron himself. Arron survived, although gravely injured. The Elders, although technically still living, are also greatly weakened, and without blood, or any vessels that they could use to procure more, those spirits retreated into their mountains, debilitated, where they still remain today.”
I was so engrossed in what Hortencia was telling me, hanging onto her every word, I was forgetting to breathe.
“Now you’re wondering what all of this has to do with you,” she said. “Well, it has everything to do with you.” She paused, blowing against the surface of her hot water, before taking a small sip. Then, picking up the cup in her hands, she began to pace slowly up and down the small room. “Before the war, the Elders knew what the Hawks intended to do in order to vanquish them. They knew they were after their vessels and blood. It was for this reason that one of the leaders—Basilius, as some call him—saw the opportunity to infect your soul, imprint on you so that he could inhabit you, and then he did… a little more than that. I should say, a lot more than that… He bonded himself with you.”
My voice caught in my throat. “What?”
“He created a link between your soul and his. A link that could make you feel his presence, no matter how far apart you might be.”
My head spun. “Y-You’re telling me, all this time, since days after my birth, an Elder has been… present inside me?”
“Indeed. Since the day that Elder touched you as a newborn, the bond he forged has remained deep within you.”
“That makes no sense! How could I have not known? How could I have not sensed his presence?”
The oracle smiled a little. “But I think that you have sensed him, haven’t you? You see, boy, the Elder himself is not physically inside of you. He has been too weak to actually fully possess you, and besides, he is still in Cruor. But he created a window into your soul. A window through which he is able to touch you… and you have felt his presence. He manifests himself most strongly after you’ve made a kill. You’ve felt his presence closing in on you after you’ve murdered. That’s the very reason that you went to The Oasis to begin with—so that you wouldn’t have to kill in order to get human blood. Am I not right?”
My mind reeled as her words sank in.
It did make sense. Too much sense for comfort.
“A-And I can only stomach human blood—”
“Because that’s what your stomach is meant to consume. Your stomach is meant to be his stomach.”
My heart skipped a beat.
“And I… I couldn’t turn back into a human—”
“That’s right,” the oracle replied. “Because you are not meant to turn back. The Elder has claimed you as his own, and it’s his influence that is keeping you as a vampire.”
Horror filled me. “Can he read my thoughts?”
“Occasionally, I’m sure, and that will only increase with time,” she replied.
“With time? Why is he even bonded with me to begin with? What good will his presence within me do for him?”
“You are his lifeline, Benjamin. With every mouthful of human blood that you swallow, you are nursing him back to health. The bond he created with you means he can benefit from the blood you consume. His weakened soul is being revived. Strengthened. Your feeding is his feeding…”
I sat, gaping at the woman.
“You’ve been downing human blood for some months now,” she continued. “It won’t be much longer now until the scale tips and he becomes strong enough.”
“Strong enough for what?” I breathed.
“Strong enough to manipulate your actions even when you’re not under the influence of bloodlust… Strong enough to call you back to him in Cruor. I believe you are only days away from it.”
“And do what with me exactly?”
“Well, once one of those creatures has gained strength—especially one as influential as Basilius—it becomes easier for the others to recover too. Especially with your help.”
I racked my brain to recall the stories my parents had recounted to me of when the Elders had taken over The Shade. If I remembered right, Corrine had managed to exorcise a number of Elders from our people. And Odelia, the Ageless at the time, had freed my mother from the grasp of one of them.
“So now I know about his influence over me,” I said, trying to steady my voice, “I just need a witch to help me get rid of it.”
My heart sank to the pit of my stomach as the oracle shook her head. “I’m afraid the situation is much more… subtle than that,” she replied. “Because the Elder’s presence has been with you your whole life—practically since the day you were born—he has become ingrained in your system… almost one with you. He has been with you far too long for any spell to be effective. And I should warn you that any such attempt to exorcise him with magic could have fatal consequences for you—especially because, as I said, his soul currently remains safely in Cruor.”
