Golden Hue (6 page)

“If your mother is willing to be transformed, I'll bite her for you,” she said. “But please know that I have to be very careful about how many humans I allow to be turned into vampires. The general principle is one a year – but even that’s pushing it.”

“Thank you Sarah,” I told her, before wrapping my arms around her. “I love you so much, mom.”

“I love you too, son,” she said.

“You know, I feel very blessed to be about to marry Cathy. However, I'm also more thankful than you realize to have a mother like you,” I said.

Sarah began to cry.

“What's wrong?” I asked.

“I didn't know when or if I’d ever have a child,” she said. “It’s wonderful to have a son like you. Go talk to your mom,” she said. “Let me know if she wants to become a vampire.”

I walked out of the small kitchen and headed back into the living room.

Cathy was standing on the ceiling.

“Look at what your fiancée can do, Eli,” my mom said. “I can't get over it -- she’s amazing.”

“Would you like to be able to do that?” I asked.

She turned and looked at me.

“Would you like to be able to walk on the ceiling?”

“What do you mean?”

“We could turn you into a vampire,” I said. “You’d be young again, and would be able to do things like Cathy is doing.”

“What do you mean I could be young again?”

I looked at the lines on her face and the bags under her eyes. The years hadn’t been kind to my mother.

“You could be twenty years old again, forever,” I said. “You’d be free from any kind of disease. The pain in your leg would go away, you’d no longer have diabetes, and you’d be young and healthy again.”

She said nothing, but appeared to be in deep thought.

“Just think about it,” I told her. “You could do anything you wanted to do. It would open a whole new world for you.”

“But what about my soul?” she said. “Aren't vampires damned creatures?”

I took her hand in mine.

“I don't believe I'm damned,” I said. “I don't believe you’d be either.”

“But do you know for sure?” she said. “I don't want to one day have a stake driven though my heart and end up in hell.”

I paused. I couldn’t say that I knew absolutely for sure, but I didn't want to tell her that I didn’t know.

“All I can say is that I haven’t seen or heard anything to convince me that we’re damned,” I said. “I even went to church this morning with Sarah and Cathy; we didn't catch fire or anything.”

Sarah came into the kitchen.

“Emily, I was born a vampire, and I've been around many very old vampires. I've never once been told that I was destined to burn in hell,” she said. “If you’d move past what you’ve seen in movies, you’d realize the amazing gift you’re being offered.”

My mother climbed out of the recliner and stood up.

“I need time to think about this,” she said. “Can I have some time to make up my mind?”

“Sure,” Sarah said. “We will be coming back this way in the next several days. Think it over, and take your time.”

“Okay,” my mom said. “Thank you.”

We sat in the living room and talked for a few minutes. My mother told Cathy and Sarah that she was glad to meet them. She also told Cathy that she was looking forward to being at the wedding.

“We have to get moving,” Sarah said. “We need to get to the hotel by nightfall.”

My mom looked at me. I knew what she was thinking.

“Don't worry, Cathy and myself will have separate rooms,” I said.

“Just remember, son, that you aren’t married yet. You better not be fooling around with her in some hotel room – you were raised better than that. If I hear that you’ve shacked up with her . . . ”

“Don't worry,” Cathy said. “Eli has been a perfect gentleman.”

“I'm sure he has been. But you don't tempt him into doing anything he’ll regret,” she said.

Cathy remained silent.

“We have to go, mom,” I said, giving her a hug. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” she said. “It was nice meeting you, Cathy and Sarah – I look forward to the next time you come by.”

I placed the old envelope with my great grandmother's notes in one of my bags, and we went outside to the SUV.

This time, Cathy and I sat in the back seat. She leaned against me as we drove away.

“So how do you like my mom?” I asked.

Cathy looked at me with her beautiful, brown eyes.

“She’s nice,” Cathy said. “Now I know where you get that prudish streak from.”

“Prudish?” I asked.

She smiled.

“Just kidding. You’re not prudish. You’re just... overzealously respectful,” she said.

I took her hand and squeezed it.

“Do you love me anyway?” I asked.

“Of course I do!” she said. “I just can't wait until we get married.”

“Me too,” I said.

“You better watch out,” she said. “You’re tempting me to elope with you tonight.”

“You two will have to wait,” Sarah called out from the front seat. “We have a lot to do over the next few days.”

“How do you like my mom,” I asked Sarah.

“I think she’s great,” she said. “I hope she’ll let me turn her.”

Cathy snuggled against me, and I held her in my arms.

I looked through the window into the darkness of night. In the sky I could see thousands of stars, and turning enhanced vision, I could see tens of thousands of stars.

“You know I love you,” I told Cathy, holding her tightly. “I don't want to deny you anything. I'm simply trying to respect you.”

“I know,” she said. “It means a lot to me. Just hold my hand.”

She took my hand and raised her power level. I could feel her essence flow through my hand like gentle, cold electricity was traveling from my hand to the rest of my body.

We both raised our power levels and surrounded each other with our auras.

“Let’s go to sleep,” I said. “Sarah will wake us up when we get there.”

“Okay,” she said.

We basked in each other’s aura as we slowly drifted towards unconsciousness. It felt perfect having her in my arms and her soul all around me. I was in heaven.

A few minutes later, I was asleep.

Suddenly, I heard Sarah's voice.

“We’re here,” she said. “Wake up love birds.”

I opened my eyes, and I looked out the window. We were in the parking lot of a huge mansion that looked like a luxury hotel.

“So we’re in Atlanta?” I asked.

“Yes, at the estate of the empress,” she said.

I could feel Cathy move.

“Hello darling,” I told her. “We need to get up.”

We stepped out of the van, and I looked around at my surroundings. We were in the grounds of a beautiful and elegant mansion. The exterior was made of stone with brick was used as a trim. On the massive front patio large columns supported a roof and on top of the roof was a balcony. I was in awe.

As I began to get our bags out of the back seat and the trunk an old man in a suit walked towards us.

“The empress requests your presence immediately,” he said. “May I take your bags?”

“I prefer to keep mine with me,” I said.

“I do too,” Cathy said.

“You can take mine to my room,” Sarah said.

The old, gray haired man took her bags and walked away with them. Cathy and I carried our own bags, and we followed Sarah towards the main entrance of the mansion where a dark haired man was standing waiting.

“The empress is expecting you,” he said. “Follow me.”

On the way to meet the empress, I couldn’t take my eyes off the amazing interior of the home. The floors were made of hardwood and stone, beautiful paintings were everywhere with large vaulted ceilings overhead. As we walked on the décor became even more elegant and before long we reached a set of massive doors. Two vampires – already transformed – stood guard on either side. They opened the doors, and we found ourselves in a huge room. In the center was the empress sitting on an ornate throne. It was red with gold trim and had a high back. As she motioned for us to come closer, I looked closely at her features: blonde hair that was almost white, fair skin, green eyes, and bright red lips. She wore a red dress and long, red boots.

“Welcome to my estate,” she said. “We’ve lots to talk about.”

Cathy and Sarah bowed before her, and I decided to do the same.

“It’s an honor to meet you,” Sarah said. “I wish it was under different circumstances.”

“Don't be foolish,” the empress said. “Your mother was becoming erratic and dangerous. Her behavior was a threat to all of us.”

Sarah stood up and looked at the empress.

“What you did solved a problem for me,” the empress said. “I hereby grant you a pardon.”

Sarah looked confused.

“Thank you,” she said.

“You don't look relieved,” the empress said. “I just saved you from a wide range of potential punishments.”

“I just feel that even though I may have done the right thing, that there should be some kind of punishment for killing my mother,” she said. “I'm grateful for your mercy, but she was my mother.”

The empress stood up and walked towards Sarah. She gently put her hand on her face.

“The guilt you’ll feel for the rest of your life is enough punishment,” she said.

She then walked back to her throne.

“You’ll be expected to attend the Dance of the Night this Thursday, and be present at your ordination on Friday,” she said.

“Yes, Empress,” Sarah said.

“Now,” the empress said turning to me. “I want to talk to you.”

Her green eyes stared into mine, and I felt a piercing power pass through me.

“I hear that you’re something more than a vampire,” she said. “Come closer.”

I slowly walked up to her chair; she continued to stare at me.

“How much do you know about vampire society?” she asked.

I studied her face before answering. She was certainly attractive -- her skin, lips, and hair were all flawless – but I found her far from likeable.

“Not much,” I said.

“Let me educate you,” she said. “Sarah is not only your mother, but your queen. Your allegiance and loyalty is to her. However, I am the empress and her allegiance and loyalty is to me. Therefore, you must respect me to an even greater degree than you do her. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Empress,” I said.

“Good,” she said. “So who are you loyal to?”

“You, my empress,” I said.

I wanted to barf at my words, but I knew I had to play along for Sarah and Cathy's sake.

“So now I want you to pledge your allegiance to me,” she said.

“What do you want me to say?” I said.

“Say what you want, as long as you’re being honest,” she said.

“I pledge my allegiance to you, my empress,” I said.

“Good,” she said, before kissing my forehead.

“Now, I have a request,” she said. “Would you transform for me?”

I was angry. The fact I had to pledge my loyalty to her made me feel sick inside. If she wanted to see me transform, I was going to put on a show for her – even if it tore the room apart. Looking deep into my soul, I began to call forth the power written into my genome. As I began to glow with a white aura, I stared into her eyes. She was watching me closely.

Pushing harder, I could feel a tingling all over my body as my skin turned golden. My fangs and claws emerged; I was transformed. I decided to take it further.

With a primal scream, I called forth even more power. I could feel wind in the room; a vortex was encircling me. As I continued to dig deeper, the wind started to become more intense.

“Amazing,” I heard the empress say, her hair blowing in the storm I was creating. “How far can you take this?”

“As far as you can take,” I said.

I was now furious, and I let my rage pour out. The wind increased to the point the throne toppled over. The empress simply stood in front of me.

Closing my eyes, I began to focus. With all my might, I tried to pull more power out of the hex. I could feel a new tingling sensation on my skin. Opening my eyes, I could see that a yellow plasma was now flowing over my body.

“Can you take any more?” I asked.

“Give it to me,” the empress stated. “I want to see how far you can go.”

I pushed once again, and I could feel another surge of power.

Without trying, I began to float in the air. Everything in the room was now blowing around – paintings were falling off the walls, furniture was being blown down, and windows were cracking.

I then felt Cathy's arms wrap around me. She was now on my back.

“Show her what you got,” Cathy told me.