Chapter Ten
Michelle grew worried as weeks passed and Lynn
became weaker and tired quickly. She could not perform her daily chores and her
and Michelle’s daily intercourse tapered off. Seeing Lynn after a fortnight
shocked Michelle. Her once shiny hair was dry and limp, her skin pale and her
breathing was labored. She inquired as to what was wrong, but Lynn said it was
nothing and she would be fine in a few days, her healing spell and herbs had
not taken affect yet. But Michelle did not believe her and found a Spanish
Gypsy who was rumored to have special powers in healing.
Lynn spent a day with Michelle in her room at the
tavern. Lynn’s eyes widened and looked fearfully at Michelle when a knock
sounded at the door. Michelle calmly opened the door to reveal a brown skinned
woman draped in colorful robes. “Thank you for coming, Miss Ana,” Michelle
greeted in a hushed tone. “I am just here to help ones in need,” Ana replied in
a broken accent. Ana’s brown eyes found Lynn huddled under the blankets on the
straw bed. “My poor child,” she whispered and uttered a blessing.
Lynn watched as Michelle spoke in whispers, telling
the Gypsy Lynn’s symptoms. Miss Ana’s brown eyes were on Lynn as she listened
to Michelle. Her limp hair, sunken cheeks, pale skin. She patted Michelle’s
hands and glided gracefully to Lynn’s bedside. Ana sat down and took Lynn’s
cool hands in her own. She looked in Lynn’s green eyes and took in her sickly
appearance. She took Lynn’s chin between her thumb and finger, turning her head
this way then that way. Ana gasped as she tilted Lynn’s head up, her neck
exposed to her. There she saw the two light scars.
“What is it?” Michelle asked, hurrying to Lynn’s
other side. Her heart pounded, hoping her dear friend could be cured. Ana
replied, not taking her eyes off the wounds, “I have only heard of these marks,
but have never seen them before with my own eyes.” Michelle’s gaze followed
Ana’s and her hand flew to her mouth in utter shock. “What are they?” Michelle
asked, her voice revealing her fear. She really didn’t want to know. They
looked like bite marks, sharp fangs are the only thing that could puncture the
skin in that fashion. She unconsciously rubbed her own neck.
Lynn let her tears run down her cheeks, all the
pain and fear of the days and weeks following Nickolas’s transformation coming
out in that moment. Michelle cried too, embracing Lynn’s weak body. Ana’s own
heart dropped her fears confirmed. The terror of her ancestors coming full
circle in her generation.
Ana spoke softly, “I can help but, Lynn, you must
tell me how you got these marks.” Lynn’s eyes widened, “No, I can not speak of
it.” Ana leaned forward, looking into Lynn’s face. “My dear, I know the
creature who makes these marks. My people are quite familiar with them.” “How….How
do you know?” Lynn asked, squeezing Michelle’s hand tightly.
Ana began her tale, “I am of Spanish descent. In
ancient times, when the Roman Empire was bearing down on the British Isles, the
English and the Spanish were planning a union, a marriage between two young
nobles, a Spanish nobleman and an English princess. They were to unite and
strengthen the band between the two countries. Together, their forces would
fight the Romans. But before this could take place, a mysterious woman came to
our village and violently killed many of my people. She took a liking to the
Spanish noble and made him into what she was, a creature of the night, a
vampyre, the walking dead who must survive on the blood of the living. She took
him right in front of his bride to be. While he was changing, she killed his
English princess. The bloody mess was his first sight as a vampyre.” Ana
paused, then continued, “After that, the Spanish noble killed his maker,
cutting her head off with a sword. He left us, his people, to fend for
ourselves. Some stayed, some left. My family left, vowing to fight this
creature if we ever came upon one again. My knowledge has been handed down to
me from the original villagers. I believe it has been my destiny to find you
and help to destroy this evil.”
Michelle could hardly believe what she just heard.
A sudden rush went through her being as Lynn broke down in tears. Ana held
Lynn’s hand. But Michelle was in another place. She was with her mystery lover,
in his mind. She knew things that she did not know before. Her lover’s dark
secret, his master’s true nature. They were beings of the night, just as Ana
had described. Michelle realized Brian had bitten her and fed from her. Was
this the reason for her odd dreams and unnatural thoughts? In Brian’s mind, she
saw Lord Alexander in his dark study. She felt sadness in the room. She was
closer to him now, tilting his head up to look in her eyes. Words passed that
were not spoken, they just knew. Soft lips touched hers, teeth nipped at her
lip, drawing sweet drops of warm blood. Michelle’s eyes blinked rapidly as she
came out of her vision.
Lynn had calmed down and she told her tale of
living with Lord Alexander, his obsession with her, and how her husband had
been transformed by Alexander’s hand. She explained her wounds. “Nickolas can
not drink from anyone but me. He hates to do so, knowing it makes me weak, but
I willingly allow it, so he can live. I love him, I’ll do anything for him.”
Michelle had to know who Lord Alex really was, if
her vision was true. She asked Ana, “What was the name of your Spanish noble?”
Ana looked at Michelle knowingly, but answered, “Alexander.”
