Remedy

Remedy is a sequel to Elixirs.

ID: 1538422   (Rated: 13+) Elixirs  A vampire seeks a magical cure. by dc-musing

I stood motionless in the square staring up at the church.  I didn't want to go in.  Oddly, this has nothing to do with my being a vampire.  We can go into to churches and the whole holy water/cross thing is really just a myth.  Don't get me wrong, I 'm not trying to dispel it, just stating fact.  They do nothing.  Well, that's not really true.  They do bother me but not in the way most think.

The real reason I didn't want to go in --- well, it's a morality thing.  I kill people to survive.  This is so far away from what the individuals who worship in these places believe that I can't make myself go in.  I, and my brethren of blood sucking, death mavens, are the exact opposite.  We defy the very laws they have put in place and abide by.  I shun the rules, the laws, and prefer my own moral ambiguity that I have devised to make myself feel better about what I am and let's just say it's not even close.

So, I stand, staring and wondering.  I berated myself for being here but still can't leave.  The snow promised by the fluffy gray sky finally starts to fall.  I watch it swirl down around me; the wind picking up the flakes and carrying them about in erratic patterns.

I admit it.  Kamen got to me.  I'm standing here staring up at a church wondering what I'm looking for only knowing that I need to find it and keep it from him.  It will deprive him of life and knowing that makes me want to find it.  I want him gone.  I know that's what's making me look for the damn stone even though I don't want it and don't know what I'm going to do with it if I find it.  I can't destroy it.  I can't use it.  I just don't want him to have it.

I have relied on him in the past.  I don't like admitting that to myself or anyone.  He cured me.  He knows me and knows what I am and I want him gone.  This is the only way and knowing that is all that keeps me searching. 

I've been thinking about Drago a lot since my visit with Kamen.  Actually, I think about him a lot normally, now it's bordering on obsessive.  Sadly, I still miss the man and something Kamen said has me wondering and the only way to find the answer was to come here and see for myself.

I sometimes wonder if all vampires think of the person who turned them as intensely as I do.  There are days when I still feel his breath on my neck; hear the sound of his voice, his thick accent.  I want our life back but I know it's gone forever.  It disappeared but my memories seem to be more real now.  I keep telling myself it's because I came back here that the memories are stronger and nothing more.  I don't want to think or believe that Kamen did anything to me --- at least not physically.  He did inflict a bit of emotional drama and that's what brought me to Russia. 

I realized that while I knew with Drago, I actually knew very little about him and where he came from.  I knew he was Russian and not much more.  I spent years with him --- killing people.  Innocent people.  There's some guilt but it's been assuaged by time and, frankly, we all live off someone or something in our own way.  Life itself is parasitic so I don't much worry about the death part anymore.  What bothers me is that I now deeply miss a person I have come to realize I know nothing about.  He never told me about his family, or life before he was turned.  I don't even know who turned him.  We never talked about it.  Certain topics were off limits, family being the big one.  I thought it was because he didn't have any left and I certainly didn't want to talk about my family so I never pushed.  My life with him was brand new, exciting, dangerous and I knew I couldn't involve anyone.  I thought it was the same for him.  Unwritten rule of sorts for vampires; once you're in, everyone else is out.    Your new life is all you have.  Sometimes you have a partner, sometimes you have no one but yourself.  I had Drago and after him, no one else.  A solitary life we vampires live.

Snow was starting to pile up and I knew the sun would be up soon.  I turned and walked away with no idea of where I was going or what I was going to do.  I wanted to just go home.

“Cecilia...”

I turned around.  The voice was right behind me.  I could have sworn I felt a soft breath on my neck.  I went cold.  No one knew I was here.  How could they?  I never tell anyone what I'm doing and so few people actually know me.  The ones that do, don't bother with me.  I like it that way. 

“Cecilia...”

I shook my head and decided to walk away.  My boots made a hollow clicking sound on the bricks as I tried to keep my pace regular.  My legs wanted to run.

“Maybe another day...”

“Maybe not,” I said to no one in particular and kept on walking.  There were few things that scared me but this voice did and I wanted to get as far away as possible.  Fast.

---

Drago isn't the only one I think about.  I had a sister, a very long time ago.  Clarisa died in the French Revolution.  I know because I saw it happen.  It was shortly after Drago's unfortunate date with an ax and the guilt was so great I really thought I would die, if that had been possible.  She was trampled by a crowd trying to get bread.  I was watching from far away hiding as best I could.  I wanted to talk to her and to stay in touch but with my circumstances greatly changed, I thought it best to keep distance between us.  She thought I had died and that wasn't entirely untrue so I let her believe it.  It was easier than trying to explain I was undead.

I walked into the apartment I was renting in St. Petersburg.  I wasn't a fan of hotels – to many people around and I can't take cleaning staff wanting to come in during the day.  I may not sleep but I like to be alone during the day.  I can take the sun for short periods but I look out of place and try to stay indoors.  People ask too many questions and become too curious at hotels.  Apartments are just easier.  It's not as if I'm hurting for money.

I was standing by the window when the paper slid under my door.  My hearing was back thanks to Kamen and I heard no footsteps in the hall.  It was marble and people make noise.  Nothing.  Silence.  That scared me.  Few things do, and I say things because I don't think whatever left the note was human.  I bent to pick it up.  The paper crinkled in my hand.

Cecilia -

I've been waiting to meet you.

A small, green flame grew bright in the dead center of the paper engulfing it quickly, disappearing just as fast as it appeared and taking the paper with it.  I stood frozen. 

I put my ear to the door hoping beyond reason that I would hear footsteps of some kind, that I would be wrong about how the note got here.  It certainly would not have delivered itself. 

I walked back over to the window and stared out over the square.  The snow was falling steadily blanketing the city in a soft glow.  I thought about running then.  I could go home.  I could go someplace new. 

I watched the sky lighten, brightening the snow covered street and thought about family.  It was then I decided to leave for France.  I'd visit the cemetery where that headstone gracefully stood protecting my sister.  She wasn't in any shape to offer advice but I was hoping that a few old sites might be enough to calm my nerves.

---

The stiff, frozen grass crunched under my feet as I walked through the cemetery.  Two hundred and twenty years and I still remembered where she was buried.  I had paid dearly for the place but I wanted her to be safe.  She was the only sister I had and at the time I went off to the French court, the only sibling I had that was still talking to me.  My mother was dead and my father in a self-induced alcohol coma.  He wouldn't see the end of the month.  She should have shunned me like the rest but she didn't.  Clarisa was a kind soul and I wanted to make sure she was treated right, especially after what I had done to the family.  In  many ways, I was their ruin and I harbor guilt to this day. 

Headstones rose above the ice and snow covering the ground, looming dark in the night.  Names and dates fading with time and memories.  I walked on to the oldest and least cared for portion of the cemetery dates running in descending order letting me know I was getting closer with each step.  Looking over my shoulder, I noticed a small movement to my left.  Normally, I would have believed it to be a shadow but I seemed to be more than popular lately.  Quickening my pace, I pushed through the rusty gates into the old section.  I wanted so badly to see that grave.  I wanted to have some connection with her again and while I knew it wasn't going to happen, I still wanted to be near her.  I stopped to calm myself before moving.  I didn't function well in this state of mind, too many situations can attest to that.  I was also sure I was now being followed and needed to change my mindset if there was going to be any killing this evening.  I hadn't fed in a few days and dinner sounded appetizing.

Pulling myself together, I listened but heard nothing, an almost even worse sign considering I was pretty sure of what was following me.  Unsticking my heels from the ice and snow --- again, a bad shoe choice something endemic to my personality and fashion sensibilities --- I moved on.  The stone was still there and just as large as ever.  It was a carved angel staring down at the dirt in front of it balancing on a large square stone, wings folded demurely behind her and tears gently falling over a meek smile.  Rather groundbreaking at the time I had it carved, now it's a normal site.  I wanted something special to remember Clarisa and this was what I came up with at the time.  Showy and grotesque was how it was viewed by the family members that were still living.  They had no idea who had commissioned it and no matter what they tried, the artist wouldn't reveal anything.  A little precaution I had put in place.  Did you ever see a vampire smile when hungry?  Most don't live to give a description, he did.  I paid him an outrageous sum for the marble sculpture and he kept his mouth shut living to a nice old age with his little family.

It was still white as ever, hovering and protecting Clarisa.  The features had faded somewhat but it was amazing still.  I reached up to touch it's cold hard face imaging I felt much the same to a human.  Tracing all the features, a pang of sadness hit me.  I spent the last two hundred odd years exploring this world, learning it's mysteries, taking, ruining, and killing, and my dear sister who put up with the crass family of ours always wanting to play peacemaker lay beneath my feet. 

After the Revolution, I had no use for anyone and my family believed me dead along with my sister and mother and I had no reason to change their opinion. I knew they had fallen on hard times but I made no contact and left them to the fates thinking myself wronged by them and too happy with Drago to care.  It was the day I saw her walking the streets dressed in old mended clothes and carrying a moldy loaf of bread did I finally begin to grasp what I had done.

I never wanted that for them, even for my brothers who were willing to live off any ill gotten gains they could come across in the French Court.  Falling to my knees, the angel looming heavy over me in more ways than one, I noticed it.  The small shimmer under Clarisa's name.  I brushed the snow away and there embedded in the rough granite base was a stone.  Black and shining.  I traced it with my finger, the edges finely carved and sculpted.  It was a piece of art in its own right.  I was stunned by its beauty and the fact that I hadn't put it there. 

“Drago put it there,” said a voice behind me.

I knew the voice but I didn't turn.

“He wanted it to be safe and he, in his vastly poor judgment, put it here.  He figured you would probably return one day.”

“Cereise?”

“It's been a long time mon chere.”

“You should be dead.”

Cereise laughed.  It was as soft and lilting as I remembered.  I wanted to hug her tight but I knew she should be dead which meant she was now my kin of another kind and my heart dropped.  Finding out my newly found, long lost Aunt Cereise was still alive should have been a wondrous moment but it was terrifying.

“I am, so to speak.”

I stood up and turned to her.  She was just as I remembered her, very petite and delicate.  Her fine, blond hair silver in the moonlight and her eyes a piercing green.  Her skin so white she seemed to glow in the starless night.

“How...”

“I think you know how my sweet Cecilia.”

“Who was it?”

“It wasn't Drago if that is your question.”

I shook my head but didn't feel relieved in any way.  Knowing who turned her wouldn't really matter in the end --- it was the knowing that I was not the only vampire in my family.

“Please tell me that Clarisa is dead?  I don't care for another family reunion especially since I want and need her to remain dead for my sanity to stay intact.”

“You sister Clarisa is dead.  She died in the street as you saw.”

“Did you try to turn her?”

“No, her injuries were too grave.”

“How long?”

“I will be 285 years old soon.  In terms of life span, I am not much older than you my sweet child.”

Nodding, I turned back to stare at the stone.  I needed to remove it and leave.  Odd how being in the company of another vampire can make one want to run.  Interesting turn of the tables for me.  I prefer to do the intimidating.

Touching the stone I found it was embedded quite well within the granite, probably by magic.  Magic was not my strong point.  Asking for help was another sore point but failing couldn't happen.

“Do you know how to remove it?”

Cereise was at my side instantly; a small breeze announcing her arrival.

“There is a spell for removal that we can try,”  she said.

“Wait, if you knew it was here, why didn't you remove earlier?”  She may have been my aunt but, technically, she should also be dead and trust is not something we vampires have a lot of.

“I needed you.”

“Why?”

“Drago made sure no one but you would be able to touch the stone once it was removed.”

“So, you know this removal spell will work I take it.”

“I do and it does.  Shall we begin?”

I stared at her.  I needed her help but once the stone was removed she no longer needed me.  My guess was the spell Drago had placed on the stone would be broken as soon as I left the cemetery with it which meant she could kill me and take it.  Not a happy thought but I had no one else to help me but her.  Did I trust my dead Aunt Cereise or not?  I couldn't answer that question but it seemed it didn't really matter.

We stood staring at each for a few moments before I nodded.  She smiled and my insides turned.  God, did I look like that when I smiled at someone?  I knew it was terrifying and I used it to my advantage all the time, but still, not fun to see.

She rubbed her hands together and pulled a small scroll out of the pocket of her long black coat.  It crinkled as she unrolled it.  The scent very musty.  She handed it to me.  Gingerly, I took it and staring down at it realized I would not be able to read it.  Damn thing was in Russian.

“I don't speak Russian.”

“Hmm?  Really?  Drago never taught you?”

The words were very demeaning.  Yes, she knew more than I did at this moment but what was I to do?

“No,” I said through clenched teeth.  I wanted to wrap my hands around her throat and it took a lot of self control not to.

“Oh, well, I can read and you can repeat.  Ready?”

“Fine.”

She read, I repeated in a voice as steady as I could make it knowing I may not make it out of here alive once I had the stone in hand.  Also, knowing that Drago had done this for me made me more emotional than I thought I would be.

Black as night
Dead of heart
Only her cold touch
To remove it now.

And, then again, I remembered how unromantic and mildly stupid he had been in life.  Death brought nothing to his putrid poetry.  What I had fallen in love with?  Laughing to myself, I reached down to grab the stone.  It fell into my hand heavily.  I shoved it in my pocket without looking at it.

“Lovely seeing you again.”  I walked away from Cereise hoping to make it to the gate without having my head removed.  I waited until I was out of sight to run.

I made by way back to the apartment I kept in Paris.  I never came here but I liked knowing it was here. A reminder of who I was and in some ways what I was.  Once inside, I waited.  For what I wasn't sure. Was Kamen going to show up?  Would Cereise come to claim it? 

Maybe I was wrong about Cereise.  Maybe she only wanted to help me.  Maybe I could just leave with the stone and all of this would be over.  No Kamen.  No Cereise.  Done.  I could go back to living my quiet life with no one but myself to answer to.

Since returning, I had been walking around clutching the stone, afraid to put it down.  I wanted it near me.  It felt heavy and oddly warm in my hand but I couldn't bring myself to look at it.  It was all I had left of Drago and everyone wanted it from me.  Cereise may not have said anything but why would she show up to help me retrieve it?  And I admit I was having trouble with the fact that she was also a vampire.  I thought I was the only one in my family.  I liked being the last of the Von Fleurs.  They were all supposed to be dead.  Being the last survivor, vampire or not, of the family felt like a triumph to me.  Yes, I had a lot of help in the vitality department but I was it.  I was unique.  I was supposed to be the only one!

Emotions were odd for me.  It's not that I never experienced them, it was just infrequently.  Once in a while I would feel something from my victims.  A transference of emotions through their blood but it's always fear and something I live with and I like it when people fear me.  Admittedly, I do feed off it.  I'm all right with that.  Experiencing it myself was something I was unaccustomed to dealing with.

---

The next night I decided that I was not going anywhere without finding out how and why Cereise was involved.  She knew something and I needed the information.  Knowing that she was my kin was also something intriguing to me.  I wanted to ask her so many questions.  She was the only relative I had and I wanted her to be my aunt once more and let her tell me it was going to be all right. 

I wanted her to tell me Kamen's people would no longer hunt me.  A complete change of heart from the night before but what could I say, she was family after all. 

Finding her would not be a problem.  Some vampires have special powers and I had a small but very useful one --- I could find other vampires.  This little sixth sense of mine was handy although most times I used it as an avoidance tactic.  Today I would put it to use.  I was going to find her and ask a few questions; I figured she owed me at least that much.  What she felt and her role in this little game, I had no idea but I was counting on the fact that she would see would see me and hopefully be willing to talk.

As soon as the sun dropped below the horizon, I was out the door after safely hiding the stone.  After all the trouble of finding it, I didn't want to think about having to go through it all again.  Letting all my senses down was not something I did often, it scared me to do it, but I needed to find Cereise and while this wasn't the only way, it was the easiest.  Usually I began to panic when I dropped my guard but tonight there was a sense of excitement for me.  I wanted to see her. 

I took a deep breath and looked around me.  My senses were working overtime and I was finding more than I really wanted to.  I sensed a lot of activity, mostly around the graveyard, which was typical.  I was surprised that I hadn't noticed it the night before to think of what I had walked into --- it scared me now.  I needed to be very careful, most of the vampires I was now sensing were new.  Too new for my tastes.  I hated new vampires.  They were reckless although they were not as bad as most thought.  Cockiness was really the biggest problem and one of the most annoying.  They want to tell you how great it is and what they can do and they think they can do anything.  More than once I had a new vampire attack me under the impression he would be able to show me how much stronger he was.  What most don't realize is that vampires only get stronger as they age.  Yes, there is an original rush of energy and strength that comes with the turning but the longer you survive the stronger you become.  Old age does have its benefits, something I never thought I would utter.

Turning away from the cemetery I walked on listening to my shoes clicking on the cobblestones and reliving the past few nights.  I took a deep breath to clear my head and let my senses work.  Something was drawing me toward a park at the end of the road.  I knew in my heart Cereise would be there and I decided not to make her wait any longer.  Finding her was going to be much easier than I thought it would be and that made me nervous.  Nothing should be this simple.

Waiting on a bench under a tree looking very demure was Cereise.  I could not get over how young she looked but I probably looked much the same to her.  She was just as I left her over 200 years ago.  For a woman close the 300 she looked fabulous.

Stopping a few yards away I waited.  I had no idea what to ask her and needed to gather my thoughts.  I'm usually a very composed person who is used to getting what I want, but I didn't know how to prepare for this, I'm not sure anyone would.  She was obviously waiting for me one would not have known it but I did.  She looked calm but I sensed her anxiety.  She was not excited like me.  That made me feel better about this, to a point.  If she was this terrified, it could not be because of me.  This was something more.

Creeping up to her, I dropped my hand on her shoulder and she jumped.

“My dear!  Oh, I wasn't expecting to see you again.”

It was not the reaction I was expecting.  “What has you this scared?  I know it's not me.”

She shook her head.  “Nothing.”

I nodded.  “Ok.”

We stood there for several moments staring each other down.  I took in her outfit.  She was dressed very casually, slim black pants and a simple scoop neck gray sweater.  Her long black coat open.  She had a scarlet scarf tied jauntily around her neck --- so very French of her.  Her hair just brushed the top of her shoulders.  She looked much the same to me as she always did, without the corset and ruffles but still something very stiff about her, very proper.

“You look good.”

She looked me up and down, “So do you.  Seems we've both aged well.”

I laughed at that.  “Can we walk?”

Her head swiveled around quickly, very exorcist like.

“What?”

She smiled, “Sorry, nothing.  This way.  It should be quiet.”

“You're scared of something.  What is it?”

She shook her head.  “You just never know.  I have not spent this many years alive without being careful to some degree.  Paris is a bit of a hotbed for vampires lately.  I don't know what's taking place and I don't really care.  I just make sure that whenever I come out I look over my shoulder.”

“You didn't see me coming.”

“No.  I did not.”  Her voice was very flat and with a hint of shame.  “I should have.  Some days I think I am getting old.  Well, I am old, not getting old.”

“I need to talk to  you.  I have a lot of questions and I need you to be upfront with me.  I won't be staying long and I would really appreciate your help right now.”

Cereise nodded but said nothing as if waiting for me.

“How did you know about the stone?”

“As I explained last night, dear, Drago told me.”

“Yes.  That I got.  I need more details.”

“Are you going to tell me why first?”  She said that with a smile on her face that told me she used it often to get what she wanted.  I used the same one many times.  I smiled back hoping she understood me as well.  “I see.  It is a long story.  Do you have time?  You seem to be in a hurry.”

“I wouldn't be here if I didn't.”

“I asked Drago not to tell you about me.  I was made before you and, well, I didn't want anyone to know.  I thought I might be able to hide and then get myself out of the city and maybe even the country.  I could move away and everyone would think I had died of disease or an accident that would have been chocked up to the Revolution and the deplorable conditions this city fell into.

I was not ashamed, but I was a bit worried that I might attack a family member.  It never happened but I wanted everyone to think me dead.  I thought it would be easier that way.  I found a few of our kind and stayed with them waiting for the moment to leave. 

Drago was among that group, at least for a short time.  He helped me a lot but he had higher aspirations.  He loved the court and found a way in.  I knew you were there and would not go.  I wanted to stay as far away from you as I could not wanting to ruin anything for you.  I wanted you to be safe.  He was completely infatuated with you from the moment he saw you.  He wanted to know everything about you.  I refused to tell him anything but he found out anyway.  I tried to stop him but he was relentless when it came to you.  He was determined to have you.  I hoped he would be good to you.  Was he?”

I nodded, “Yes.  He was and I loved him although I am starting to find out a lot things I wish I didn't know.”

“Well, I am glad to hear that you loved each other.  I worried for you my dear.  You were always a bit of my favorite.  You have such spirit.”  She reached up to touch me, thought better of it and dropped her hand in an instant.

“Anyway, he was secretive.  There was this man that came with him.  He wasn't a vampire.  Some sort of mage I think but I never found out because he disappeared shortly after he arrived and I never asked after him.  He was not the sort of person I wanted to be around and did my best to stay out of his way.  I was relieved when he left.  It was shortly after his disappearance that Drago told me about the stone.  He had stolen it and needed to hide it.  I refused to help and that was the last time I saw him.”

“This man that was with Drago, was he Russian?”

“I think he may have been but I don't truly know.  He was short and greasy.  I know that is not a very good description but that is how I remember him.”

“His name was Kamen,” I said.

“You know him!”

“Unfortunately.  Please go on.”

Cereise shook her head.  “I have no more about Drago.  How do you know this Kamen?”

“He is a mage.  I sought him out and asked him to kill me shortly after Drago was beheaded.  Everything I tried didn't work so I asked him for help.  He can be dangerous and now he's after me because he wants the stone.”

“What does it do?”

“Fountain of youth, according to him anyway.  I offered to bite him but he turned me down.”

Cereise laughed.  It was high pitched and soft at the same time.  There was a nervous tinge to it.

“Oh my dear you really are fearless.  I always said that to your mother and how she used to worry about you.  She would be so proud of you if she could see you now.”

“I somehow don't think she would be too proud of a daughter that sucked the blood of others to survive.”  It wasn't a fictitious statement on my part.  I was sure she would find me an abomination but it didn't matter now.

I felt her hand on my arm.  “She would.  She would be very happy with how you have turned out.  Your mother always worried about you.  She worried that you were too head strong and reckless.  All she wanted for you was to be happy and safe.  Your mother was tough, much stronger than I ever was or ever will be even with my, shall we say, extra abilities.” 

We walked on for a few minutes in silence.  I could hear light scuffing sounds and smell small animals in the nearby trees.  I was very grateful to have my hearing back.

“What did Drago tell you about the stone?” I asked.

“That it was special but that was it.  I don't think he knew much about it and the day he came to me and asked me to keep the secret for him was the last time I saw him.  I never even looked at the stone.  I didn't want to know about it.  I will admit I was very curious when you showed up and wanted it back but I didn't even have the heart to ask you.  I had been waiting for you but I wanted to see you more than I wanted to know about the stone but here I am talking to you about it so maybe it is your time to explain.”

I smiled to myself at that.  My aunt was still an aunt even after all these years.

“Kamen wants the stone.  The bastard attempted or at least tricked me into thinking that he poisoned me a few months ago in an attempt to get the stone.  He is slowly wasting away, I won't say dying because I don't think he will in the end, but he is doing everything he can to get it back and has somehow managed to get me to retrieve it for him but I have absolutely no plans on giving it to him.  I will be leaving tomorrow.  I plan to hide the stone in a place he won't be able to find it.”

“How will you do that?”

I shrugged.  “Good question and one I have no answer for right now.”

“There is something else you should know.”

She said it so quietly I almost didn't hear her and with my hearing that was saying something.  I waited for her to continue.

“It is about your mother.”  She took a deep breath.  “She was an expert on stones.”

I said nothing and waited for her.  Suddenly I was very worried and think I knew why Kamen was so interested in me.

“She was brilliant.  You know that though.  It’s been a very long time since I’ve had the chance to speak to anyone about her and I guess I’m feeling a bit nostalgic.  She never told anyone except for me about this skill and she passed along everything she knew about it to me but I am afraid, my dear, that you may not be getting exactly what you need from me.”

“Why is that?  If you’re willing to share it with me then…”

“It’s not that.  I will tell you freely all I know and hope it will be enough to keep you safe but it’s no guarantee.”

“Guarantee of what?  What was she involved in?”

Cereise looked very scared.  My god this woman was a vampire, older than me.  Now she was just a terrified person who seemed to be waiting for a death sentence she was certain was coming.  I was stunned by her reaction and began looking over my shoulder every few seconds.  It was more than Kamen I was afraid of now.

“The stone you have has many powers and, thanks to Drago, there is also a curse on it.  It’s wanted by many people and I’ve brought them all to you by helping you retrieve it.

I should not have done that but when I saw you all I wanted to do was help you.  You were my favorite of my sister’s children and since I have no one and live an exceptionally secluded life, well, I wanted so much to be able to speak with you once more.  For years I hoped you would come looking for it and then later I wished you wouldn’t.  I knew what would happen to you and when you appeared I went ahead with the original plan, against my better judgment.

The stone is ancient and, yes, it can extend life.  It can also protect and destroy.  Your mother knew what she had come across and was enchanted by it in so many ways.  I pleaded with her to get rid of it but she was scared it would fall into the wrong hands.

She had no idea at this point what was to become of her family members but she was scared and trying to protect me.  I think you and I, and our lifestyles, were never in the picture.  She had friends she trusted and wrongly believed they would help her hide the stone.  She died before that happened.  It was lost, stolen I think, after her death or maybe your father got rid of it.  I don’t know in the end but I have a feeling your father may have given it away when someone asked for it not knowing what it was.

He was distraught after her death.  The family began to fall apart then.  You were gone at the court and your brothers did what they could to save the family fortunes which included running off with it to England and spending it on women and gambling. 

I knew what had become of you.  I knew about Drago.  I wanted him to leave you; I thought you would be better dead, than well, this.”  She gestured at herself.

“There were days I thought the same,” I said.

Cereise nodded.  I wanted her to go on but didn’t want to push.  This was hard for her, and while I needed to know and, wanted very badly to know, about my mother, I couldn’t push her.  I loved this woman and many nights after I lost Drago I thought about running to her and begging her to forgive me for what I had let myself become.  I thought she would accept me.  Now, here I was completing the circle for both of us.

“Did you love him?” Cereise asked quietly.

“Drago?  Yeah, I did.  Sometimes I wondered why though.  Dumb was not really the word to describe him neither was stupid but let’s say that in his case, looks won out.  I would like to think that he loved me as well but after all these years, a lot has faded.”

Cereise laughed.  “I know he loved you.  I am sure of that.  Unfortunately, he left you with the cleanup two hundred some odd years later.”

We walked on, her arm threaded through mine as if we were two women talking a walk in the park.  The idea made me want to laugh but I held it back as said, “You need to tell me about my mother.”  My voice almost cracked and I was astounded by how rough it sounded. 

She looked at me and held my gaze for a moment.  “She got herself involved in things she should have left alone.  The stones were a small part of it.  You know how she was always experimenting with herbs and visiting those shops down by the water.  She met people there, some good, some bad.  She was fascinated by what they told her and was becoming very involved with mysticism at the time.  I stopped going with her but was still forced to listen to her lengthy discussions about what she had learned.  She was inviting them to the house when your father was not home.  I think I was more afraid that people would think she was having an affair and ruin her reputation but then again things like that bothered so few in this city at that time.  It was what we all did then. 

I worried for you and your siblings but your mother seemed to think all of that would work itself out without her meddling. 

One night she knocked on my door in the middle of the night.  This was shortly before her death. Phillipe, you remember your uncle don’t you?  He was a good man.  I tried to stay with him as long as I could but he was beginning to get suspicious so I faked my death and left him.  It was the most difficult thing I have ever done and the only regret I have is for him.  I wish I had been able to give him children.  I think that would have made his remaining years so much happier.”

She cleared her throat, a soft muffled sound which was akin to tears.

“The night your mother showed up at my house she was in a panic.  She believed people to be following her.  She had the stone with her and asked me to hide it for her.  I told her no and asked her to leave.  It was best to separate ourselves, or so I thought.  I wanted nothing to do with what she had gotten herself into.  She was found dead by your father a few days later.  I suspect she was poisoned but I stayed quiet.”

I was doing my best not to have any emotional reaction to what Cereise was saying.  It had all happened so long ago, it was history to me now.  I didn’t want to feel anything for my mother.  Anger wasn’t even there.  I was very good at the emotional black hole that for the first time in a very long time began to wonder about whether it was healthy for me, psychologically speaking.

“How did Drago end up with the stone then?  He couldn’t have been involved with the same people?  He couldn’t have killed mother?”

Cereise was patting my arm.  “No dear, he didn’t kill your mother.  But I do think he stole the stone from her.”

“You know, you are the only person that can call me dear without me having a visceral response to it.  Usually I kill people for that small infraction.”

Cereise stopped and was looking at me very oddly.  Suddenly she burst out laughing.  I was annoyed and worried someone would hear her.  Vampire or not, I had no intention of running into anyone tonight unless they were my soon to be dinner.

Making an attempt to calm herself, Cereise said, “You were always sensitive like that, my… How about sweet?  Does that elicit the same response as dear?”

I tried to stare her down a moment but ended up laughing with her.  “No, no it doesn’t,” I finally snickered out.

“So, what are you going to do with the stone?” Cereise asked.

“Kamen won’t be getting it, that I know. Why?”

“Curiosity only,” Cereise said.

An alarm went off in my head but I ignored it for the moment.  I was determined to walk away from her without any hurt feelings and hoped to never see her again.  It would be possible I told myself.  There was no reason for us to ever meet again and now this stupid stone business was over with I could hide it and be on my way.

“I need to leave.”

“Wouldn’t it be possible to visit for another day my sweet?  It’s been so long and…”

Unusual was my first thought but she was a sentimental person.  Always had been, it was just part of who she was and nothing more.  Get the conspiracy theory crap out of your head now I told myself. 

Her face changed quickly when I didn't answer.  “I understand.  Where will you go?”

All business like I said, “My plans are unfinished at the moment but I will probably head to London.”

“May I ask where you have been living all this time?”

“No.”  Keep it simple and short I told myself.  No tracks to follow later.

She nodded.  “Understandable my sweet.  I wish you well and if someday you are feeling nostalgic, you can find me here.”  She turned so fast I barely caught the look on her face.  Standing there staring after her I thought she looked a bit mischievous but it could have been my imagination.