Blood of the Gods (The Vampire from Hell Part 5) (8 page)

(Grace’s Diary)

***

“
Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead.
” ~ 1 Peter 4: 5

***

As Demetri draped his jacket over my shoulder, I saw Jax nod to us and stand up on his hind legs.  Then he shifted from a white wolfhound puppy into J, G’s son and Rayea’s mentor.  In shock, I bumped shoulders with Rayea.  We both jerked upon seeing J alive again.  I knew her eyes were probably as wide as mine were.  I tried my best to remain calm.

After reading Rayea’s book, I had learned that J had almost gone dark when he had attacked her that night in Max’s bar, the Golden Skull.  That was the night I had been forced to sit at a table in the back watching J and Rayea’s sister, Stephanie, drink and carry on.  Even though J attacked her, Rayea had tried to save him because she admired the man immensely.  Unfortunately, she had failed.

I felt Rayea move away from Blick and me, probably because she wanted to run up and hug the tall, distinguished man.  Blick refused to let her go join him.  I heard Blick’s deep voice.  “Later,” he said.  J heard Rayea’s protests and raised his head in our direction, smiling politely.

Speaking to the crowd, J pointed at Rayea and Blick.  “The vampire confessed her love for the wolf god. That should be proof.”  J threw his hands about in wild gestures. 
His clothes were dirty, disheveled, torn, and stained in blood.  He wore the same khaki green T-shirt and black jeans, now shredded and faded.  The clothes barely clung to him.  His feet were bare and he looked like he had just crawled up out of a grave.

I glanced around to see whom in the crowd he was talking to, but I could not identify the party.  He continued his debate in Rayea’s defense.  “She proposed to him!  That should be enough proof!”

In her journals, Rayea had written about this man she admired at some length and went on about his wardrobe of Italian suits he had in some detail.  He had shown her several powers she now called her own.  The best I could figure out about J? He was an expert on vampires, and yet was not one of us.  I wondered what was so grand about him as he stood there lamenting in his torn and faded rags. 
Why did Rayea need to be defended?

Bursts of white lights shot through the crowd of people of Valeria, the former souls no longer imprisoned in bones, the walking dead of a forgotten land that Rayea had set free.  Two of the three wolfhounds standing near us shifted as well and appeared as humans, or technically as gods I realized.  G, J’s father and Max, my former boss at the Golden Skull emerged from their canine shapes.  Immediately G walked over to his son, hugging him for a very long time.  Once their embrace ended, G put his fingers to the side of his son’s face and closed his eyes for a moment.  A whirl of golden light flew around J.  When the light faded away, J stood before everyone, clean and shaven, in a white suit with bright blue tennis shoes.  “One always needs a hint of color,” G chuckled.

J nodded and flipped his feet up once or twice as if he was doing a two-step dance.  He hugged his father again. 
Their bond was solidified again,
I thought.  A pain of jealously filtered to my heart. 
I had no family, only Demetri and Rayea who was finally facing a judge and jury we couldn’t see.  What if I lost her?

“Since this seems to be our impromptu judgment trial for the accused, I’m glad to be here with you all today.”  G walked over to Rayea, Blick, and me and held out his hand to Rayea.  “My dear, are you ready to do this?  Now?  So soon?”

“Yes,” Rayea said.  “I’d like this over as soon as possible.  I’m ready to move on with my life.”

“I agree,” G said as he returned to the front of the crowd.  By this time, many individuals had sat down on the ground or perched on a nearby rock or other structure.  The judges of the council remained hidden.

“This proposal of hers,” G continued, thrusting his burly chest forward and raising his hands, “proves she is capable of love and we should be capable of forgiveness.  She tried to save my son, J, not destroy him.”  Standing for a moment, he let his words drift through the crowd.  Despite his small height, he was an impressive sight with his attire of all white and a confidence that few could rival.  He reminded me a lot of Max, my former boss.

Just then, Max joined the discussion.  He walked over in his long denim shorts and black AC/DC t-shirt.  His unruly gray hair was pulled into a tight ponytail that cascaded down his neck.  “Hasn’t this gone on long enough?” he asked as he stood before me, Rayea, and Blick.  “I call upon the council to make a decision now.  This is ridiculous.  Show yourselves.  If she were one of my daughter’s or G’s for that matter, would you be taking your sweet ass time deciding her future?  No, you wouldn’t.  May I remind you, blowhards, that Mehen is still flitting around somewhere doing who knows what!  You clearly haven’t stopped her since many of you seem to be hiding here on Valeria, and not on the Summit where you should be.  Am I wrong?”

“We are observing,” a voice from the crowd said.

“Beelzebub promised us a safe haven,” another one offered.

“Bullshit,” Max yelled.  He threw up his arms and walked over to stand near G and J.  “You are cowards!”

I wanted to pinch Rayea on the side of the arm as I heard Max’s words.  I had no idea he kept such high and mighty company, but the man spoke his mind and I loved that about him.  If the situation had not been my maker’s judgment day, I would have wanted to pull up a seat, munch down some popcorn, and have Blick blend up one of those famous smoothies of his.  Instead, I gave Rayea’s hand a tight squeeze and stepped forward to share with the mystery council, still hiding in the crowd of people, a piece of my mind.

“If you are worried about this Vampire from Hell turning evil, you are looking at this situation all wrong.  She is fighting the evil out there.  She is the good guy.  I have met her sister, Stephanie, the snake woman, if you can call her that, who refers to herself as the New Medusa.  If you end Rayea’s existence, then you had better figure out a way to stop Stephanie and Mehen who are probably in league together by now.  It’s just my opinion, but if it were my decision, I’d rather have a vampire dragon shape-shifter on my side instead of the other way around.”

More flashes of light surged from the crowd of people and finally a few figures came forward.  These people must be the Ancient Council.

“Who is this creature that dares address us?”A very tall old man dressed in white and holding a long staff asked.

I stepped back in line with Rayea, hoping I had not really messed up the situation.

“
Zeus
, this is Grace, Max’s daughter and my niece,” J spoke up as he walked over to Rayea and me.  J grabbed my hand.  My mouth fell open. 
I’m what?

“Rayea saved Grace after she was attacked by Stephanie.  I owe her a lot for saving my child.  Because of this vampire, the future line of the House of the Lion did not end that day,” Max added.

“She’s saved both our children,” G interjected.  “From this evil that you are comfortable to ignore.”

“Or hide from,” Max piped up.

J returned to stand by his father and uncle.  “Yes, I don’t know where I would be if Rayea’s blood had not diluted the poison of Stephanie’s.  Of course, I now have the blood gift, but I am still here to see another day.”

As I struggled to process what I was hearing, I reached out again for Rayea’s hand.  Instantly she pulled me closer to her.  Leaning my head on her shoulder, I rested for a moment and tried to take all of this new knowledge in.  My eyes blazed for a moment and I felt the flames of my blood rush to my fingertips.  Pulling away, I shook my head.  “No, he didn’t,” I growled.

A large hand came out of nowhere and Blick patted my shoulder roughly.  “Ladies, let’s not make a scene.  We’re almost out of here, I hope.”

“Where is Demetri?” I spoke up, realizing I had not seen him for a long time, since this witch trial got underway.  The blood in my veins wanted to boil over.  “J has a blood gift?” I whispered to Rayea out of the corner of my mouth.  “What blood gift?”

As I saw her barely shake her head, I shut my mouth and remained quiet. 
She too was stunned by the unfolding events.  How more insane was it going to get?
I wondered.

“These acts of kindness the vampire has shown prove nothing.  She killed her father, sister, and many others.  We can’t allow this to continue,” the council member demanded.

Both G and Max interrupted.  “Zeus, you can’t…”

“Yes, I can!  Without more testimonies, I can decide this creature’s fate.  Push me further and I’ll judge both your children, the young redhead and your son.  I’m assuming they are vampires now as well because of this Vampire from Hell.  Sharing the blood gift indeed.”  He hissed out the words in disgust.

Just as I heard Rayea gasp, I felt like I had been kicked in the teeth, or fangs, I suppose.

J flashed us a full smile, his vampire fangs showing completely.

“My god, what have I done,” Rayea whispered.

Had she not reacted to Zeus’s words, I still would have known what this knowledge, that she had given J the blood gift too, meant to her.  The guilt would consume her.  As I struggled to understand my new family tree, I could only imagine how it pained my maker.  “Do you want to sit down,” I asked her.

“No, no, I’m okay.  J’s alive.  I didn’t kill him.  That’s all that matters.  I can deal with my sister and father being dead, but not J.”

“Blick,” Rayea blurted out under her breath.  “Was this J’s greater plan all along?  To become a vampire as well?”

I saw Blick reassure Rayea.  He caressed her shoulders and whispered down to her, just so that I too could hear.  “It was decided long ago that both of you were the future of the houses.  Keeping you out of harm’s way has been our number one priority.”

“And risking your own lives,” I asked Blick.

“Secondary,” he mumbled.

I gritted my teeth and contemplated any next possible move.  I wasn’t sure how much more of this trial I could witness.  The shit was getting too deep, as Max would say.  Who else would they bring forward?  Would it matter to this Ancient Council who seemed to consist of only one stubborn man, or god, Zeus? 
We’d have to be ready to move,
I thought.  When I remembered the blood pills I had stashed in Demetri’s jacket that I now wore, I slowly reached for the bottle hidden in the inside left pocket.  It was still there so I flipped open the plastic top and snatched a handful to share with Rayea.  “Here,” I muttered, pushing several of them into her hand.  “Take these in case you need them.”

“Whose blood is in these?” she quietly asked.

“Demetri’s and Blick’s, a concentrated form they have been sharing with me.”

“Hot damn,” she giggled under her breath and slid me a side glance.

“Bring it,” I replied as I nudged her in the shoulder.

Blick glared down at us with a stern expression.  “What are you two going on about?”

Rayea and I both popped the blood pills in our mouths and commenced to chewing them up like there was no tomorrow. 
Hopefully, that would not be the case.
  We returned a smile of mischief to Blick, and then giggled like partners in crime. 
I’d defend my maker’s life with every flame in my body.  Let the council do their worst.

Rayea’s Reprieve (Blick)

***

“
Do you not see even stones yield to the power of time, lofty towers fall to decay, and the rocks molder away? Temples and statues of the gods go to ruin, nor can the gods themselves prolong their date or get
reprieve
from fate.
” ~ Lucretius

***

As quickly as he disappeared, Demetri showed up again, this time considerably pleased with himself.  He rushed over to us.

I grabbed his arm.  “Any luck?”

“I think so!  I had to cash in a few favors, but I think we have a way out of this for Rayea,” he said.

“For Grace and J too?” I asked.

“I believe so,” Demetri answered.

“Like what,” I asked, glancing down at Rayea and Grace.  Amid the front of the crowd, G and J continued discussing benefits for not issuing a request for extinction elimination as Max paced the floor and grumbled.  Zeus preoccupied himself with saying hello to people.  We did not have much more time before he tried to declared Rayea’s sentence.

“Is Zeus really the final decision?” Grace asked.

“If my mythology serves me right, you can’t go higher up the food chain than Zeus,” Rayea said.

“That would be true if you were human,” I replied.

Rayea glanced at me and smiled.  She walked over and laced her fingers into mine.  Having her near me again was wonderful and I did not mean to lose her anytime soon just because of some stupid celestial politics.  “But I’m a vampire.  See?”  She showed me her fangs and I laughed.

“Only a blood god can pass judgment on a vampire.  However, blood gods cannot pass judgment on one another,” Demetri qualified.

“Did you find them?”  I asked Demetri as he joined us.

“I did and they should be here very soon.”

Excellent
, I thought to myself and then wondered what the ramifications meant for Demetri.  “Are you absolutely sure?”

Rayea glanced up at me.  “What’s going on, guys?”

Demetri kissed Grace on the cheek.  “I should have told you about my family.  We don’t really get along, so at some point I promise we’ll take care of all of that.  Okay?  But I called in a favor, one that will solve this soon.”

“What are you talking about?” Grace asked, the tension in her voice coming through as she clenched her hands open and shut.  A few sparks of fire fell from them.

“We’re going over Zeus’s head in a matter of speaking,” Demetri answered.  His voice seemed confident, but his mannerisms did not.  He could not stand still.

I heard Rayea groan.  She asked Demetri to see his hand.  I knew what she was going to do, but couldn’t stop her before she slapped him hard on the tops of his fingers.

“What kind of lame ass crap is this?” Rayea blurted out.

“Rayea,” I growled under my breath.  “They’re here.  Hush!”

She and Grace both gritted their teeth, but not before, they had hissed and flashed their fangs in both mine and Demetri’s direction.  “Vampires,” I muttered under my breath.

“This had better work,” Rayea whispered as she pinched me on the waist.  “I need a hot bath and my iPhone!”

Grace giggled.  “We have a wedding to plan too,” she added, but then her mood soured and she glanced down at the ground.  “Those are your relatives, Demetri?”

He took her hand in his.  “It’s going to be fine.”  He added, “Besides this is really brilliant on my part, or the stupidest thing I have ever done as the Angel of Death.  Blick, can you help me welcome them to Valeria?”  Demetri stepped in front of me as I swallowed hard and joined him.

Usually, I was not big on socializing with the deities.  Many faded into obscurity before you could figure out what house they were from.  I did not share my opinion very often on this subject with J or G, but I thought Zeus had seen his day.  He had no right to pass judgment on anyone, much less any supernatural person such as a werewolf or, in this case, a vampire, and yet there he was surrounded by the crowd of Valeria people as they touched his robe and asked to kiss his staff.  He narrowed his eyes and looked upon them as if he were on Mount Olympus about to send them off to run some errand for him.  That type of worship sickened me.

When Demetri came up with the idea of asking his family for a favor, I hesitated.  I really did not think he would be able to find his parents so quickly.  Somehow, he had.  It shocked me to see
Eos
and
Thanatos
walking towards us.

I shook hands with both celestial beings, and then led the way around to meet and greet the others.  G, J, and Max politely acknowledged their presence and said a few niceties.  Zeus kept his back turned to us all.  Millenniums of distrust and gossip had given Eos, the goddess of Immortality, and Thanatos, the Grim Reaper, bad reputations.  Being modest souls at heart, they had elected to live in obscurity until they were called upon.  Demetri had told me it would be a last ditch effort to ask his parents for help, but I realized now it was the time to bring out the heavy guns.  I thought about contacting my parents too.  It had been too long since I had spoken to them.

“Grace, these are my parents,” Demetri offered.

“Hello, it’s nice to meet you,” she said, reaching out to shake their hands.

“You’re absolutely lovely, my dear,” Eos commented to Grace.

Everyone made small talk and I waited for a moment when I could bring up the subject of Rayea’s reprieve.  Instead, Thanatos brought up the subject.  “One should believe in marriage as in the immortality of the soul.”

Eos laughed and waved her hands about.  “It’s quite stuffy in here, isn’t it?”

We all agreed.

To the normal eye, the celestial couple looked like they were on their way to a Halloween party.  Thanatos always dressed himself in a formal tuxedo and flowing black cape.  The hood and staff he added later once he decided he’d get more respect as the Grim Reaper if he appeared as a walking skeleton.  In his day, Thanatos had been as handsome as his son, Demetri and while I understood it, I hated to see him lose his outward humanity.

Eos, on the other hand, was a vision of beauty and likely she always would be.  You could not expect less from the goddess of Immortality.  For her entrance, she had gathered her long, curly red hair on her head, letting a few strands fall over her ivory shoulders and white angel wings.  Her dress shimmered with red and gold sequins that outlined every curve of her ivory gown.  Back in the day, I had enjoyed many philosophical conversations with them both.  Back then, life had been simple.  I long for days like that again, before Lucifer had fallen and he and Mehen had sent the world into utter chaos.

“I think the majority of us feel that sufficient evidence has been given to reject Zeus’s desires for wanting to give the Vampire from Hell final elimination.  J, G, Max, and Grace have all shared their thoughts,” I volunteered.  “And I’d like to take this time to remind everyone here that a blood god cannot pass judgment on another blood god.  Certainly a celestial god would recall that.”  I paused for a moment, glancing around the room and finally making eye contact with Zeus.  Every now and then, I liked to remind the Ancient Council whom they were dealing with.  As a wolf god, I did not bow to this deity.

“Blick raises an excellent point and yet, Zeus feels it’s not enough?  Is that correct?” Thanatos asked.

I nodded.  Before I could continue, Zeus interrupted me.

“I’d like it to be noted, yes.  We can see that this vampire has already created others.  Who is to say she will stop now?  I believe if we eliminate her now, it’ll be over.”  Zeus kicked his staff up to illustrate his point.

Effortlessly, Eos sauntered over to Rayea.  She seemed to be holding a book open.  “My dear, do you still have this ankh?”

“I’m sorry?” Rayea asked.  “What ankh, ma’am?”

I smiled and breathed a sigh of relief when I saw Rayea respectfully curtsy to Eos, a move I had never seen her do before.

“Oh please,” Eos laughed.  “That’s not necessary,” she said, grasping Rayea by the hand.  “I’m not that much older than you, I’m sure.  Here read this aloud for us.”

She shoved a darkly covered book into Rayea’s hands.

“Where did you find that?” Grace began.

“I found it on the floor here.  It seems to have been dropped.  It’s been underlined and commented on.  Why, Blick?  Is this yours?” Eos smiled over at me.

My copy of Rayea’s book had fallen out of my back pocket during my shift.  I clenched my eyes shut, hoping I did not say aloud the expletive that ran through my mind.

“Thanatos, this is true love,” Eos declared.  “He’s underlined all the parts of their relationship here and drawn boxes around her name.  How adorable.  We can’t turn our backs on immortals in love?  Now can we?”

Demetri slapped me on the shoulder, chuckling loudly.  “Mom loves a great romance story.  Don’t you, Mom?”

“Indeed I do, Son,” Eos added.  “Zeus, I’d like to submit this as evidence and move that your accusation be withdrawn.  I fear you are out of your depth.  Blick, I shall return this to you the moment I have I finished reading it.  But Rayea, my dear, this part here where you save your betrothed from the darkness, tell me what the blood god says to you.”

“What blood god?” Thanatos asked.

“Indeed.  That question you are asking is one to ask.  You are quite right, my love.  He’s much older than me, and while I have heard he is no longer with us, I do believe this will solve our situation here.  Go ahead, my dear, read us this passage from your book here.”

She held the book open for Rayea.

With her vivid green eyes very wide and questioning, Rayea took the book from Eos.  “I’ve never seen this before.”

“Grace and Lynn got your online journals published.  Grace recently gave me a copy.”  I tried to offer any comfort I could because I knew Rayea was petrified that her words were about to condemn her.  Quickly, I thought back, hoping to recall anything damning that she had written.

“We’re waiting,” Zeus snarled as he smacked his staff on the ground.

J, G, and Max joined us so they could get a bird’s eye view.

G spoke up.  “Zeus, if a declaration of her celestial status has been made, by
the first
blood god no less, you have lost your argument.”

Many nodded in affirmation of G’s comment.  Typhean was the first blood god and his decision to give Rayea celestial status was not something any other god could undo.  It made her a blood god in her own right.  But I saw Rayea’s doubt and lack of confidence spread across her face.

Looking around at the people who surrounded her, Rayea remained quiet.  She glanced at me.  I nodded and shook my head. 
You can do this,
I said to her telepathically.

Rayea cleared her throat and recited her words from the published book:

“Break the pendant and hold it to your chest,” Typhean yelled.

I heard the blood god’s words as I saw the pendant flying in the air towards me.  I caught it just as it was about to sail over my head.

“Break it,” Typhean commanded me again.

I let go of Blick’s fur and pressed my hips against him.  The ankh broke open as easy as if I were cracking an egg.  Then flames shot upwards and rained down upon both of us.  Everywhere my blood had spilled, the fire sizzled and ignited.  My blood was flammable?  Then I recalled how Grace’s wounds had been healed.  I had cauterized the wounds by spilling my blood over them.  And how my blood had made the pendant bubble.  We would be engulfed in flames.

Before I lost consciousness, I heard Typhean’s words.  “Sacrifice.  Any blood god willing to give herself for another is worthy of a second chance.  Rise, my child, and walk among us.  You are reborn a vampire god.  You are one of us.  So let it be said, so let it be done.”

When Rayea read, “You are one of us,” cheers from the crowd reached the ceiling.  In his words Rayea had recorded, Typhean had declared it to be true.

Only hours ago, these people had been imprisoned in a walking death far worse than anything they had ever known.  Zeus and a few other celestial beings had been hiding out in Valeria to avoid detection by Mehen, and then Zeus here had the audacity to think he could pass judgment on Rayea, my beloved.  The thoughts raced through my mind as I saw everyone shaking her hand and smiling at one another.  As Grace and Demetri stood close by, Eos and Thanatos hugged Rayea, welcoming her into the ranks of blood gods.

“We’ll see you at your wedding, my child.  Grace, a pleasure.  Let’s do lunch!” When they had vanished into thin air, I heaved a sigh of relief and nodded to Demetri.  His plan had worked.

“Blick,” Rayea’s voice carried across the noise of the room.  She appeared behind me.  “I’m ready to go home.  Aren’t you?”

“I think we all are ready to go home,” I replied as I lifted her up in my arms and swung her around.

“I love you,” she said as I sat her down.  Words I had longed to hear for eternities it seemed.

I hugged her again.  “We’ve got a lot of catching up to do, don’t we?”