Neophyte / Adept (4 page)

“None taken. I am honored that you care so much for him. But
if you do, you will let him go. At least, for the time being.”

“Is that what you advise me to do?”

“I do. Lennox is very wise. But he is young and he has a lot
to learn. This
thing
will be
happening, whether he wants it to or not. We all face challenges in the
immediate future. Tell me, have you given any thought to your letter?”

“It was sent by the Lenoir, but who are they to tell me?” I
said.

“The Lenoir, for all of their longevity, have missed a few
crucial lessons. You have heard the saying that Power corrupts; it also blinds.
Be assured. They do not hold all the power. There are more supernaturals than
just we vampires. And that should be exciting to you.”

“What are you saying, exactly?” I said.

“That there is a reason that Rome was picked. Just as there
is a reason you yourself were chosen to bear this
gift
. For such gifts are given in the hopes that they will be taken
as such––and used.”

“I’m just afraid that Lennox will forget me. He is
withdrawn, I feel him withdrawing more,” I said to Dallace.

“Those things that we let go, return to us, if that is their
will. Let go. You have another question.”

“Camille spoke as though all vampires are dead.”

“We are,” said Dallace.

“You know what I mean. It was different.”

“I understand.”

“You do?”

“Yes. We call it the fugue. It actually happens twice for
vampires. And that’s the whole deal. Lennox was turned some time ago. He is
relatively new for a vampire, but he is old enough to ask all the right
questions. Among them, Is this it? Are we all that there is?

“Do not take that personally, Halsey Rookmaaker; this has
been coming on for a while, since before he met you. A vampire confronted for
the first time with the prospect of eternity oftentimes doesn’t know how to
respond to that.

“There is only one right way, and not all
minds––for we retain that at least––know how to accept
the unacceptable. But I would appreciate if you would mention nothing of what I
have just said to Lennox. The Agonies is a private time for a vampire.
Something that should be figured out for oneself. The alternative is complete
death. That is the one that cannot be outrun.”

* * *

I stood in the square feeling my mind would pop. Dallace had
become uncommunicative, but I understood it was because he had already shared
more, perhaps, than even I was aware of, at the time. So we just walked and he
admired the beauty of their home, and we returned to the empty, dark canal.

I was quiet all night, but the dreams came back. Camille’s
garden beckoned to me; I trod on the grass, up to it. I looked down, my feet
were bare.

Something was whispering inside the dark tunnel of vines and
trees; I couldn’t see it. It was nighttime and the air was full of an
impenetrable mist; it made my nightgown cling to me. My hair trailed thickly
down my back. “What is it you’re saying?” I said.

I whispered so that I was not found out. I must enter this
tunnel alone. There was no response.

I looked around, briefly. The high wall kept out the noise.
The windows back the way I had come were dark. Above the canopy of trees the
two tall towers lay dark, moonless. My windows fluttered open, but it was only
the breeze.

I turned and looked down the dark tunnel, to where it bent.
I must go in there.
I stepped on the
stones with my bare feet. Bits of grass stood out greenly on my wet feet.

“The magic in her blood is pulling her,” said a voice. I
looked around. Deeper and deeper into the trees.

“She is not one of us. It’s dangerous.”

“No. Impossible. That hasn’t happened in over a century.”

I looked up, hungrily, for the moon; it was gone, it was
closed out. I was completely, totally alone.

“She’s in and out,” said a voice.
“Go,
Lennoxlove. I will be here when she wakes.”

“We will protect her.”

“That’s the thing. I’m not sure you can,” he said.

I wanted him to wait––for me––to
stop–– To scream that I needed him. If I meant anything to him, he
would wait. The thrashing thing was back again. A pair of dark eyes.

Ballard.
I ran to
him. It attacked me. I tried to fend it off.

It was too late.

I woke up, screaming. The last image I had was of a small
face turning to stare at me; the dark tunnel disappeared, and it was like I was
being sucked backwards from my dreams. Camille was standing over me, and I had
the sudden impression that she had been trying to drink my blood.
Impossible.
I rolled away, trying to
free myself, but she put her hands on me. They were like vices of cold iron I
could not escape. I heard her voice. She was trying to bring me back.

“Halsey! It’s just a dream! You were dreaming!”

“Lennox...” I said. He had left me. I didn’t know what to
do. I wanted my boyfriend back. He was gone. I was all alone. He was gone.

Chapter 4
– In the Muck

Ms. Halsey Rookmaaker

c/o The Venice Coven

Youknowwhere

Venice, Italy

Dear Ms. Rookmaaker,

According to the European Covenant of Magic, as
agreed to in 1887––we were there, so do not try to deny
it––and in accordance with the highest ideals of Supernatural, and
Immortal alike––agreed to, and signed in blood––by all
parties involved––as stipulated:

Every quarter century a reckoning must and will take
place––As for the benefit of all––to include but not
limited to––

The indoctrination of all those magically-endowed,
to be presided over by Three Houses (The Lenoir––Immortal, Vampire;
Prague, the Districts of Magic, the original magical bloodline; The Sons and
Daughters of Romulus).

Taking place in the three European cities, The
Gathering alternates between the home of the vampire; the aforementioned
birthplace of Magic; and, now, this year, Rome. It is a celebration of our rare
and unique gifts. You are hereby summoned to attend.

As this is your first Gathering, failure to attend
will be met with the severest penalties.

Yours in Admiration and All Due Respect,

Maria Lenoir

Head Vampire

* * *

I read through this strange and curious correspondence, in
the scrawl of the vampire. It was signed in blood. It sounded fussy and like a
boss. It put me on my guard. Dallace and Camille had received similar
invitations, I was sure. Though I’m sure theirs were a little different, given
their age. Something about it disturbed me. Maybe it was all the
slashes
. I also noticed Maria put the
Lenoir first, when naming the Houses.
House
Lenoir.
Like they came first. But who were the Sons and Daughters of
Romulus?

Ballard––I needed his council. He was sixteen
years old, but beyond his years in wisdom. His family relied upon him. I
imagined him now, working in his motorcycle shop, with a grease rag in his
hands, wiping some of it on his face; it excited me that I was going to get
back to him, to his kind eyes, and gentle voice.

I realized something. My hunt for Magic was over. They were
going to be there, weren’t they? Whoever they were. These
magic
people. I needed to learn more. I felt like I had a test to
study for. I didn’t want to walk in unprepared. It would be a catastrophe.

“I never heard of this before. There are governing bodies,
secret meetings, a European what is it?
Covenant
of Magic,” I said.

“That was actually just agreed upon for ease, the thought
being Vampirism was likewise ‘magical’. A subtle way of saying we can do
everything you can do better,” said Dallace, referring to the feud between
vampires and magic I had not really heard that much about.

We were on the train. I clutched my diary in my hand, the
letter tucked away safely inside it.

There was a wax seal in the paper; it looked dripping with
blood. An ornate letter L. Camille would be catching up with us, she said. It
was just Dallace and I. He would see me back to my place, in Rome. (“You’ll be
safe there,” he said. “At least from
us
.”)

“I didn’t know there were so many things I had to worry
about,” I said.

Dallace looked excited for the Gathering; I didn’t imagine
there were that many things he really looked forward to. And Lennox?

“He had to go,” said Dallace.

I nodded. “They sound like busybodies,” I said, “the
Lenoir.”

“There have been problems in the past.
Wars,”
said Dallace.

“Oh,” I said. I waited for him to go on. The countryside
flashed past. Already my time in Venice was beginning to feel like a distant
memory. Like I was some other Halsey. Like my old me was gone. I was headed
into the unknown, and everything that entailed; within me, particularly, a
sense of dread was growing, that I might not measure up, that I might, strange
as this may sound, let my
parents
down. They had been dead since before I could remember.

I thought about that as the train chugged along, through
fields of wheat, and cypress trees, and the lovely Italian villages, that went
rolling past our window, as we headed to Rome, to the smog, and the
meetinghouses, and the secrets, and the past, I a witch.

It was official now. My too-heavy head, full of thoughts and
feelings. The sun was setting and we chugged into the night, through Bologna,
and Firenze, and the Tuscan countryside. And all the while, I thought of
Lennox, and what he must be doing. But I whispered nothing of my fears to
Dallace.

I was sure he had his own concerns. After all, Lennox was
something of a son. They gave off this brotherly affection, but I knew who
Lennox turned to for help and support. He turned to Dallace. Which made me love
the vampire sitting across from me all the more. And I thought, witches and
wizards and vampires do not get along? How come? Why not?

What was it in our shared pasts that made us enemies? And
Dallace, did he feel that way about me, that I could not be trusted?

Had all of this, my staying with them, been a sham? Were
they not, in a way, going to be glad to get rid of me?

“Your mind oppresses you with figments and shadows and other
haunting things,” he said.

“So you know what haunts me?” I said.

“Your dreams,” said Dallace.

“I don’t want to go,” I said.

“Can I tell you something? Perhaps it will ease your mind.
You noticed the quatrefoils? The Venice architecture?”

I had become expert in architecture. I had to, when I had
been trying to figure out what Lennox was––before I knew, and that
I loved him. A quatrefoil was simply four of something. They were particularly
useful in windows. They looked something like this.

Like four-leaf clovers; they were open. So was Dallace’s
confession.

“We have a Story, call it a family tale. That we are
incomplete. That one day we shall be four: Camille, myself... Lennox, and now
you.

“So you see,” he said––I didn’t know what to say
to this “––in a sense we have nothing to worry about. Lennox
should
survive, and this thing which
hunts you, be it perceived only, or in fact the real deal––it
cannot stop the fact that we are
meant
to be together, Camille, myself––and if you will, you and dear
Lennox. This is why I am coming with you. Not as Protector. As friend and
guardian. If I may, to vouch for you. The Lenoir will not think to bother you.
Not unless they wish to open
old
hostilities. If I may, you should rest, Halsey Rookmaaker. We will be there
soon, and you have much to get ready for. If I am not mistaken, the covens will
want to test you––and the other initiates. They are looking for
someone; or something. I have never really been sure what they meant by her.
But here I have already said too much. It will be up to others to indoctrinate
you. Just be sure you do not forget who
you
are. All right?”

I nodded, and then gulped. Despite his words to the
contrary, I knew not to assume Lennox would just make it. I worried about him,
now more than ever. And had Dallace just said that he wanted to turn me into an
immortal, a vampire, just like him?

Was that what this was all about? Was I to become one of
them?

“I do not claim to see the future; but it would not be so
bad. I can think of worse things than having my family whole and complete. We
take you as you are, Halsey Rookmaaker,” he said.

The train shot us through the two-hundred-fifty-mile trip,
with various stoppages, so that it was almost morning when we arrived; I had
slept intermittently; the jostling of the cabin kept any nightmares at bay. We
arrived at Termini Station at first light.

“I leave you here, but we will meet again. Goodbye, Halsey
Rookmaaker.”

I thanked Dallace for accompanying me, and wished him well.
Where he would go, I had no idea; I couldn’t exactly invite him to come stay
with me. He flew off, and that was it. The Gathering would be taking place in
three days’ time. I would see him again.

What to do now? I stood outside the station, clutching my
diary, and just began to walk. It was a mile or so to my apartment on
Via dei Condotti
. The minicab operators
were nowhere to be seen.

When I got there, flushed from my walk in the mist and
monuments, my landlady buzzed me up. She had still not learned how to stop
disliking me so much. She had a very disapproving look upon her face. Amazed,
no doubt, that I had still not managed to get myself killed. I nodded. “There’s
still tomorrow,” I said, bidding her goodnight.

Her eyes glinted. “This is tomorrow,” she said, in her
broken English. She jabbed at me with her fingertips.

Let her think I don’t
know what she’s saying.

I nodded and smiled. “Lovely to see you,” I said. I meant
it, too. But her face distorted into a thousand ugly creases.
“You.
Be. Careful,” she said to me.

I promised her that I would be; and then I ran. My room
looked exactly as it always did; with the bed and the whatnot and the candles
and the tub. There was a map of Rome on the wall, but I almost never looked at
it. The idiosyncratic layout of the city was becoming second nature to me. I
had been looking through it for so long, trying to find my past, that now I
knew it better than I knew myself.

This must change.

It was too early to even think of going back to sleep; once
I’m awake I go until I’m dead. This helps when you have a vampire throwing you
off your sleeping patterns, not that we ever have.

I booted up my laptop, and checked Gmail. There was a
message from Becca, my old best friend from Massachusetts.

From

To

Like hey!

------------

From

To

Stop avoiding me!

------------

From

To

Avoiding me makes an ass out of you and me. I have
news.

------------

From

To

This isn’t funny!!

------------

From

To

Relax, Becca, I’m here! What is it?

I sent that real quick, and then hopped out in the hallway
to get a pick-me-up––an energy drink from the vending machine.
While I was here, I lived on stale snack food and Red Bull. I threw the locks
real quick. Crazy obsessed staring lady was still giving me the what-for down
the hall. I could
feel
her presence.
Becca responded almost immediately.

From

To

Where the heck have you been? I’m practically going
crazy without anyone to talk to. It’s been three weeks!

Never mind that. You’ll never guess what’s been
going on. Mistress Genevieve and the other teachers got us all together, those
who graduated. (Hey! She says it’s not too late for you. I talked with her. She
says that she’s prepared to forgive you. These were her words: “Halsey needs to
learn certain things for herself. I cannot help her. Neither should you.” But
since when did she ever say anything that didn’t mean a bunch of different
stuff.)

They got us all together. Halsey, we’ve been talking.
We want you back. You need to get out of there. Things are really starting to
jump up.