The Vampires' Birthright (18 page)

will never forget the night my daughter was born to an audience of midwives, monks, and vampires.

You don’t see that every day on General Hospital.

In all seriousness, it was magical in so many ways. Of course, it was also the most agonizing experience I’ve ever gone through, as well. The contractions began soon after dawn and grew steadily more intense, until I thought I’d either kill one of the Nepalese servants standing closest to me in a rage or scream myself into unconsciousness. If not for the constant attention from the midwives and the gentle strokes from the women who had nursed me along since my arrival, I don’t know how I could’ve possibly endured this. But I’m beyond thankful that I did, and hearing Alaia’s first cries pulled on my heart and soul more than anything I’d ever felt in my life.

While the older women bathed her, I was drawn to the moonlight pouring into the hut and the presence of my long-absent vampire protectors gathered near the doorway. Chanson had been by my side during the latter portion of my ordeal; the memory was blurry, but I recognized her purple sarong. Tyreen and Raquel had also been close by, offering soothing words while all three delivered soft, cool strokes along my face, neck, and arms to ward off the burning heat surging throughout my body as my daughter was born. All were flushed and pink, having eaten before entering the hut, no doubt a precaution against an untimely feeding frenzy, and the only moment of sorrow in an otherwise joyous occasion came on as I realized just how far removed from life these poor creatures truly were.

“She is perfect in every way, and every bit as beautiful as I knew she’d be!” gushed Kazikli, dressed in a dark cloak and carrying his infamous cane. He peered over the shoulder of the woman holding my daughter while one of the midwives finished wrapping her in a soft green blanket.

Garvan and Armando joined him after he motioned to them and one other female vampire to come have a look. The female’s look of joy and compassion easily surpassed Kazikli’s from a moment ago, and she looked over at me.

“Txema, she is so, so wonderful!” she said, and even before she removed her hood, I recognized Nora’s distinct British accent. “The name ‘Alaia’ does indeed befit her.”

A slight scar crossed one cheek that bore the redness of a recent injury. I never thought something like that could happen to the undead, but it was through that wound’s persistence I learned of Huangtian Dadi’s dragon form and talons which drip with a poison so toxic it is fatal even to immortals. The heartless emperor of China had left one of the kindest vampires I’ve ever known with a ‘going away’ present upon her banishment from his palace.

Nora had suffered on my account, and yet her compassion never waned. If I ever did become a vampire, I vowed to be like her… so elegant and noble, and with such an unselfish heart.

“She is ready for you, Txema,” said Yangani, after the midwives spoke to her and anxiously pointed to the vampires in the room. It was the first time I had seen them so nervous, and realized the sheer number of undead spectators had pushed these poor women out of their comfort zone. “Would you like to hold your daughter?”

“Please!” I motioned for the midwife holding Alaia to bring her to me. “I’m ready to take her.”

As the midwife approached, a tangible sense of my daughter’s presence swept over me. So much more than could be contained in the closed confines of my little hut was wrapped inside the blanket. And she was beautiful—in every sense of the word.

Yes, I’m sure some of this is simply a proud new momma’s altered perception. We all think our kids are perfect. Right? And without being there with me―with all of us―there would be no way to substantiate the awe and wonder that filled my hut. No, it wasn’t anything like Jesus’ Second Coming either. But, there was something about her we all noticed. Beyond being so precious in the classic sense, she carried something quite powerful within her soul.

“She has the aura of a princess,” said Yangani. “There have been two yogis born in this region during her long lifetime, Nagira says, and she claims this child carries the same kind of aura.”

Chanson and Kazikli nodded. Meanwhile, Alaia stared into my face with the most peaceful expression of such innocent love. The room was too dim for me to clearly see her eye color… but it was somewhere between dark brown and hazel. The twin ‘teardrop’ birthmark was faintly visible on the left side of her neck. She opened her hands, and I placed my right pinky inside her left one. Too new and fragile to grip anything, she closed her hands around it anyway.

I could feel her determination to rule her tiny body, despite being in the first hour of her life. At that moment, it occurred to me my ability to read other’s thoughts had lessened significantly since Alaia’s birth. I couldn’t read her thoughts. As I gazed around the room, I heard only a mumble, where before the local Nepalese dialects echoed like background chatter in my head. Worse yet, my vampire companions eyed me curiously, as if my thoughts no longer remained secret.

“Oh shit,” I whispered, to which my daughter made a whimpering sound that drew my focus back to her.

She was smiling at me.

The moon was shy of fullness, and from the moment of Alaia’s birth until it reached its zenith above the Kosi River two nights later, my protectors stayed among us. As intense as their care and protection had been for me up until now, it seemed even more fervent. They took turns coddling my baby, and I was especially surprised by Garvan’s ability to get Alaia to stop crying the quickest when she was hungry.

“It certainly appears that like most young girls, this one has fallen for a cute blond!” Raquel quipped, watching Garvan from my bed. I was changing into a colorful sarong brought for me by Chanson, and Tyreen said she helped pick it out from several silk chests they stumbled upon in Kazikli’s castle fortress. No one had revealed the fortress’s exact location yet, although it had to be somewhere in the same climate region as the village, based upon the India/Nepal border information they’d given me earlier. “But watch out for when Alaia grows up—she’ll break many more hearts than you could ever dream of, pretty boy!”

“As long as she stays safe from harm, I’ll be delighted to teach her the fine art of flirting and hiding the secrets of her heart!” he said, beaming as he gently bounced her in her latest blanket—a bright yellow one—while casting a devilish look us. A sudden breeze blew into the hut and drew our attention toward the doorway.

Chanson and Tyreen flanked Armando as they stepped inside, dressed in similar attire to the rest of us. We were definitely ready for a little party, Nepalese style this time. I hoped we kept things respectfully quiet for my gracious hosts who seemed less than keen on Western festiveness.

“You would teach our dearest Alaia how to effectively flirt? Is that the crock of burning beetle dung that a moment ago singed my nose and stung my ears?” said Armando as he slid away from the ladies and peered over Garvan’s left shoulder at my baby girl. “Don’t listen to this blond headed fool, only take advice from the very best at the game of love―
me!”

He blew a kiss through his fingers at Alaia and lightly pinched Garvan’s nose before rejoining Tyreen and Chanson. They all laughed, along with a merrier giggle from Raquel.

I couldn’t help chuckling myself, which drew a wounded look from Garvan, until I gave him a hug while reclaiming my child.

“If you can care for her as you’ve cared for me, she’ll always be in great hands,” I said, and kissed him lightly on the cheek.

“That, Txema, is something you’ll always be able to count on from me,” he said, as his dimpled grin turned sheepish. “I’ll always be there for both of you.”

“I know you will,” I said, offering him a warm smile. I turned my attention to the rest of our group. “Where are Kazikli and Nora?”

“They’re already at the riverside,” said Chanson. “We’ll need to leave in a few minutes to be there on time.”

“Now, what are we doing again?” I knew we were planning something beyond the waking hours of everyone in the village except Suddhodana, but the details given earlier beyond that were sketchy.

“It’s a surprise, silly!” Raquel blurred from the bed to my side, and resumed an earlier game of peek-a-boo with Alaia. “Don’t get all stuck in the details, or it won’t be as much fun.”

I’ve said before how I hate when they move like that, but my daughter’s widening smile made it easier for me to chill. Still, the mention of words from my thoughts in Raquel’s reply was beginning to annoy me. They had all done this several times during the past two days. It would take some time getting used to their unfettered mind-voyeurism again.

“It’s merely a formality for how we mark the beginning of a new bloodline era,” said Chanson. “It will be quick, painless, and yes… fun. It’s definitely a once in a lifetime event, I assure you.”

Despite wanting to believe them, I felt nervous about taking my newborn to a river that had several deep, swirling pools close to the shoreline. I assumed we’d be going someplace near the same spot where Kazikli caught our dinner four months earlier. The local women frequently traveled back and forth from the same general area, but I had yet to venture out of the village since my arrival. Maybe my own isolation is what made me so nervous.

“Don’t look at me, girlfriend, I have no frigging clue about this shit.” Tyreen shrugged when I shot her a look that begged for her insight into what was about to go down. “Like you, I’m just comin’ along for the ride. It’s my first era too!”

Garvan carried me to the riverside and Chanson brought Alaia—in spite of my protests, since I wanted to carry her myself. But, I relented, since we left the hut a few minutes late and I trusted her above all others.

When we arrived on the glistening white sand beach of the Kosi River, I was amazed at how clearly the full moon’s brightness illuminated our surroundings. Gustav had decreed that his entire nation of vampires gather. Although this gave me an inkling of what to expect, the sight of so many of those pallid predators dressed in robes and sarongs surrounding Gustav was a bit unnerving.

Nearly half of his assembled kin hovered just above river, their undying king at the fore. It looked so surreal and effortless, almost as if the water’s surface was solid, like Jesus upon the Sea of Galilee.