Shadows of Doubt (22 page)

After a time, and after drinkin’ a good bit, the people that survived the sickness got well. But not just well, they got better. They were stronger, faster, could see farther, hear things from a good distance away. They learned things quicker too. You still with me here, Caroline?”

“Yes! She waved a hand at him. “Keep going!” Her uncle smiled then continued telling her the tale.

Richlieu told Caroline that not long after the caregivers stopped administering their blood to the others, they fell ill again but became well as soon as they received more blood. It became clear that blood meant life, so the process of learning came. They discovered animal blood didn’t have the same healing properties as human, but it would stop the sickness from worsening for a time. They also learned very quickly that outsiders viewed them as cursed, demons, and tried to kill them. But that was when they discovered that they would regenerate. Normally fatal wounds would heal. The more blood they received, the faster they would heal. Even severed fingers and toes, if held in place, would knit back eventually. The only thing that was certain to kill them was cutting off the head and keeping it away from the body. For without the mind, the body withers and dies. It was when outsiders discovered this type of immortality that they began to be hunted and slaughtered. When only seven of the the changed villager remained they realized they could no longer stay there. They needed to hide and keep their condition a secret. So they took the blood of those that came to the village to hunt them, kept the bodies until their numbers equaled their own, then set the village ablaze. The caretakers fled to the cities and spread a tale that the plague had returned to the village and killed them all.

Some fled to the larger cities to try and learn of anything they could to help them survive while the others, along with the caregivers were nomads for a time. They discovered that not only did they heal but they did not age, unlike their caregivers. And through trial and error, and the whim of the Fates, they learned that their condition could be shared under a very specific set of circumstances and even then it was a fifty-fifty chance the person would survive the turning. Only one caregiver remained unchanged so they knew they had to find others who would understand, help and protect their secret. The seven original infected grew wise and thirsted for knowledge. They split apart with carefully selected caregivers, and headed to far away lands in search of understanding. They agreed to meet back at their old village after a time and when they did, they had a much greater knowledge of their changed selves, their capabilities and weaknesses and where their place in such a tumultuous world was.

The original seven knew they were different from normal people, having evolved and changed physiologically from the normal human being they once had been. So they named themselves the Sanguinostri, which is a Latin variant of ‘our people of life-blood’. They learned through trial and error that some people they turned they were superior and elite. That normal humans were only valuable as servants and a food source. The original seven villagers, the elders, saw this and knew the need for removing the threat they themselves had created. It was from this realization and understanding that laws were set to stone. A vow was made to protect each other and all life above all else, for each was sacred and dependent on one another even if by tiny threads. The seven made the vow, took an oath. Setting it by blood, slicing their palms and letting their blood flow into the earth with their solemn word that if one were to betray, he would forfeit his head to the others. And so The Law of the Sanguinostri was born.

Since that time the seven and their progeny parted ways to learn and grow wherever the winds carried them. They found places in the shadows but always in a position of command, within the greatest empires mankind has ever known. As the empires fell and others rose, the need for growth, additional laws and enforcers became necessary. Ultimately the original seven chose six more and formed the Senatus Imperium, the counsel of masters. Each member of the Senatus was sent to each empire to govern, protect and provide. Those individuals are called Dominor and are the supreme rule over the Sanguinostri in their region. They have their own Aegis Council who are the lieutenants. Soldiers who answer only to the Dominor and the Senatus as a whole. They hold the laws of man sacred as their own but their own are above all. To protect the sanctity of humankind and sanguin-kind, even from themselves.

“So, baby girl, for over two millennia the Sanguinostri has survived by those same laws and vows they made back then.” Her uncle began his conclusion to the story. “Above all, keeping our presence a secret from human society is critical, or else we would be hunted, exterminated, or worse, held prisoner, dissected like bugs and used as lab rats.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute.” Caroline interrupted. “Keeping ‘our’ presence? Who is ‘we’? What do you mean exactly by ‘we’?”

“Well that’s the thing, ‘we’ means your parents, me and Francis over there for starters. But there are those who are just indoctrinated and haven’t turned. They are called Stewards, formally. Like you’re momma chose to be so that she could have you.” He looked at her parents then back at her. “But remember when I said in the very beginning, I was really your grand-daddy?”

Caroline tried to absorb it all. “Yeah, I remember.”

“Well I don’t exactly look old enough to be, do I? Which is why as times change, those of us that have turned, have to lie.”

“So how old are you then? And don’t expect me to start calling you grand-daddy now.” The room took a collective breath at Caroline’s joke. It was a good indicator that if she were going to freak, she would have by now.

“Do you remember in the beginning of the story, the first girl who bled for her brother and that’s how they figured that out?”

“Yeah I remember.”

“She was my mother, baby girl. It took her nearly a thousand years, but she gave birth to me successfully, and that’s a big deal for our kind. But to answer your question, I was born just after Byzas established Byzantium, right about 654 B.C.”

“Holy crap!” Caroline goggled. “You are freaking old! No offense or anything.”

He laughed outright, his deep booming laugh that she loved. “None taken, sugar pie. Yes I am old, but not as old as some. Caroline, we need to get to the point of me telling you all of this, it’s getting late and we are going to need some serious decisions out of you.”

She blinked slowly. “I don’t understand.”

“Well you’re parents were supposed to tell you all this when you were eighteen and properly indoctrinate you. We’re doin’ all that now but its a little difficult because you and your friend Lou have gotten mixed up in Sanguinostri business without knowing it. Those three crimes you girls are looking into off the books?”

“Shit!” Caroline jumped up from her seat. “Shit! Shit! He’s one of you guys?”

“Now calm down, missy!” Her uncle demanded when he saw Frank take a step forward. “Just like normal humankind, we have our bad guys too. That’s all the jurisdiction of our Dominor, the Aegis Council and all their people. You girls stir things up and put too many eyeballs on our bad guy and its dangerous for us. We take care of our bad guys a hell of a lot stricter than human laws do.”

“But what’s the deal with the saliva and that keratin I couldn’t identify?” She sat back down and Frank took a step back again. She had never noticed him move.

“Those of us that have turned have funny blood, tissue and other bodily fluids. One of the reasons why its so rare for us to have babies the normal way. Once things leave our bodies, they sorta die instantly, or degrade as you would say. We have some of the most brilliant scientists in the world trying to figure it out but so far, no go. You could even try to help us figure it out if you choose indoctrination.”

She thought for a moment. “So that would explain why its so necessary for you to have your own police. To pick up where regular cops have no clue what they are looking at.”

He nodded. “That’s a real strong reason. We have people in all kinds of places keeping eyes open for stuff. Your associate Carpesh being one of them. That’s how we learned about the three dead girls and our Dominor and his Council came to be in Los Angeles.”

“Huh? Carpesh? Seriously?” Caroline was having a hard time putting the whole of what she was hearing into something she could comprehend. “Wait! Wait! What do you mean if I choose indoctrination? Haven’t I been indoctrinated by virtue of you telling me all this?”

“No, baby girl. You have to swear the Oath, Blood-swear. You have to keep this a secret from anyone outside the Sanguinostri and vow to keep us above all else, or die as the price for betrayal. We have to do this right quick because if you can’t swear, Frankie here has to wipe your memory of us ever telling you all of this.”

“What? Wipe?” She goggled again at her uncle.

“Sometimes the turning gives us special talents. There are mentalists who can read thoughts and hypnotize with a blink of an eye. Some that can read objects and tell you where its been, who’s touched it and so on. Then there are some like Frankie here who can erase memories. If you honestly can’t swear, then he needs to make it so you don’t remember any of this happening.”

Caroline could feel the anti-anxiety pill was wearing off and pieces of the puzzle started to fall into place. She turned and looked at the familiar stranger that stood off behind her. She looked at him hard for several moments then almost heard an audible click in her head.

“Holy shit. Carpesh, the Dominor, his Aegis Council...” She pointed her finger at Frank. ‘Francis... Frankie... Frank Sullivan?”

Frank smiled at her. She was a smart girl. “That would be me.”

“I freaking called you today!” Caroline couldn’t stop herself from laughing.

“Huh?” He was puzzled for a moment but quickly placed what she was saying. “That was you? That hung up after asking my name?” He walked toward her and almost started laughing with her.

“Holy shit, it is a small world.” She regained her composure and realized the reason he looked familiar was she had seen him on the security footage from the morgue. Another click in her head. “That means... The man with you at the morgue, is that the Dominor?”

Frank bowed his head as he did when he greeted her. “That is our Dom, yes.”

Caroline plopped down on the couch and covered her mouth to stifle a gasp. “Holy shit, Lou’s Yummy Morgue Guy is the Dominor.”

“Yummy what? Caroline’s parents, her uncle and Frank all asked in unison.

“Yummy Morgue Guy! Oh she has got it bad for him since she passed him in the hall that day!” It was probably totally inappropriate but she started laughing again.

“Holy shit!” This time it was Frank that said it. He shoved her over on the couch and sat down next to her. “She has a thing for him, too?”

“What do you mean, too?” Caroline looked at him suspiciously.

“Wait, we will deal with that later. You three...” Frank pointed at her uncle and parents. “You never heard that or I’ll send Niko to deal with you.” The three muttered various things to the effect of not hearing a thing, heard what, and so fourth. “Caroline...” Frank turned back to her. “You need to focus and decide. I can’t let you leave here until you decide to take the Oath or reject.”

She stood and started pacing. “I need to think.” Caroline yanked the rubber band out of her hair and scratched her head as thought the action would help organize her thoughts. “Can I step outside and get some air so I can think at least?” She looked at her uncle and her parents who in turn looked at Frank.

“Yeah but I need to go with you.” Frank got up and escorted her out to the garden.

It was cold but the air was refreshing to Caroline. She needed to focus and take everything in even though she had more questions than she could count. She paced on the small patio while Frank kept his distance and said nothing for a long time. This was a twist of fate she had never seen coming.

“Caroline...” He finally spoke up. “I know this is very difficult to comprehend, fantastical even. But you need to understand that who we are, what we are, is good and honorable. We always have been.”

Caroline stepped up to him and waggled her finger in his face as she spoke to him. “You would think that finding out my family tree is a bunch of vampires and that the world as I’ve known it has a whole other world to it that I need to either swear fealty to or die would be what is so upsetting about all this.” She snorted at her own statement then haphazardly pulled her hair back into a ponytail.

“The term vampire is such a load of crap. Excuse me but it pisses me off.” Frank was the one to pace now. “That term didn’t even come to be until like the sixteen-hundreds and the dumb ass who started it was too chicken to turn so he tried to wipe us out!”

She had to smile at his temper. “Really? Is that true?”

“Yeah, its true but I probably shouldn’t have told you that yet.” He tried to fight back the smile.

Caroline stepped right in his face again and nearly touched his nose with her pointed finger. “I cannot lie to Lou. That’s what is making this hard for me. I will not lie to her or keep secrets from her. If you are telling me that’s what I have to do then you better wipe or whatever me now.”

Frank knew what that sort of loyalty and conviction felt like. He felt it every day of his life with Max and the others. Even though it had been for Max’s own good, Frank had felt uneasy about his going behind his back with the Code Pink for days now. Understanding somewhat how Caroline felt, he took a chance and placed his hands on her shoulders. “Listen to me carefully, there are things I wish I could tell you, things that I know.” When she looked down towards the floor, he tilted her chin gently so she met his gaze. “I know you don’t know me and have no reason to trust me but I am asking you to. Please believe me when I tell you that I don’t think you are going to have to lie to Lou for more then a a few days. A week at best.”