Lilah (22 page)

‘Please allow me to be there at the ceremony.
She may be in need of healing.’

She was a strong and a good healer. I did not
care whether she healed the girl or not but neither could I deny her presence.
It was perhaps time that she learnt firsthand of some of the rituals. She was
of age and it was nearly time for her to take her initiation. This was perhaps
a good thing for her education.

‘Yes, you may attend. Three nights hence I will
come and collect you and take you to the ceremonial rooms.’

She nodded formally and left.

Chapter 11

Lilah

I had hoped that the relationship between
Gabriel and Arianne would eventually end and she would return to her work for
the poor. I was naive to think such a thing but never did I believe she knew so
much of Gabriel’s kind. I thought that he had disguised that of himself and had
somehow only shown his ‘human’ side. She had more understanding than I had
given her credit for.

I had witnessed the killing of Istavan and
never did I want to see another one. It was best that I lived alongside these
creatures, my former ancestors, without bearing witness.
I
was living a lie
,
I know that now
. I may be a
witch but that did not mean that I would ever become like
them
.

As promised, Lewis woke me in the night and
said that it was time.

He led me along dimly lit corridors and through
a false door down a long stone staircase before entering a giant chamber.
Strange circular patterns were engraved in the marble floor. Out to the sides
were more corridors with cage frontages, and I could see that at some point
this had been a dungeon, all the more eerie to think that this perhaps was
where certain human sacrifices I had read about took place. It was then I
remembered the herbs in the gardens used to calm humans and knew immediately
that this was the same place where the strigoi took some of their drugged victims
to feed; part of an elaborate luring game in times of celebration.

The ceiling was high with marble columns. It
was a vastly empty room and I shivered from the damp and cold. This room was
well lit with torches on the walls and columns, and enough light for me to
examine the patterns on the floor that matched many of the book covers in the
library. The symbol of circles joined was designed centuries ago so that others
could recognise the residences of the strigoi. In earliest times, when they
ruled, the circles would be made in bronze above their abodes. Later, when they
were driven to hide, these marks were scratched on the base of doors so that
other strigoi would recognise it as a safe house.

Lewis explained many centuries earlier, and
long after the time of Sigimund, that strigoi were the ruling race, living in
castles across the lands each with their own dominions. Humans were commoners,
tradesmen, farmers, or servants to the strigoi, while the strigoi were masters
of nature, art and building design. They did not have to hunt for their own
blood – goblets were brought to them of animal blood or blood drained
from prisoners sentenced to death. This existence made them lazy and it was a
matter of time before humans became jealous, and when
the
strigoi were usurped by rebellious mortals they suddenly found themselves
having to hunt for their own food
. During this time they were ill
prepared and weak, and when a second cleansing of the strigoi occurred, Lewis’s
parents and siblings were burnt to death. His kind was forced to hide, killing
humans indiscriminately to stay alive. And survive they did.

Centuries passed, and after these lessons of
hardship, Lewis and other leaders maintained stricter control of their covens
setting up laws to keep a balance of all living things. Masters sent many of
their subjects underground for their one hundred year sleep, and as the human
population increased, new strigoi were created to balance the numbers.

Lewis took my hand and led me to the large
cushioned chairs on the far side of the room. His hands were ice cold. He
returned to the dais at the centre of the room: a slap of raised marble with
engravings of beasts and gargoyles along its edges. I had seen those pictures
before in Lewis’s books. These were said to be the original strigoi, an angel
who grew so old he resembled those gargoyle beasts. In many of the images such
demon-like creatures were prayed to and worshipped. I had learnt these
creatures were the first to discover the practice of body stealing to restore
their youth, another practice now outlawed within Lewis’s circle.

In my studies I had viewed such forms
clinically, but sitting here waiting for the arrival of Arianne the whole idea
of these creatures sickened me.

The sound of shuffling on the stairs jolted me
from my
self pity
and through the door walked Arianne.
She wore a dress of white with a coat of lace fastened tightly beneath her
bust, walking like a nervous bride
;
her bright ruby
painted lips sharply contrasting her pallid skin.

Behind her walked Gabriel. He carried something
in his arms wrapped in tapestry and laid it gently down on the floor beside the
table

Arianne avoided my stare but Gabriel looked at
me and whispered to my thoughts.
‘Don’t be afraid’
. But this did not in
any way calm me. In fact, the thought of his betrayal, by agreeing to make my
friend something she was not, fuelled my anger.

Under Lewis’s instruction, Arianne was helped
onto the marble dais and despite her smile I could see that her hands were
trembling as she lay down. She was indeed aware of the dangers but I could not
fathom what drove her to do this act.

‘Arianne,’ I beseeched, stepping forward.
‘Please don’t do this.’

She looked at me. ‘Everything will be
alright
. You’ll see.’

Her tone was full of disregard and I remembered
Lewis’s harsh words, stabbing at my heart. It was true – she no longer
cared for me.

‘Stand back,’ Lewis said to me. ‘Stay out of
the way.’ There was a warning in his voice that commanded attention. The force
of him filled the room. The legends of his power were never more obvious than
at this moment. He lifted his arms and a gust of wind shot through the room
brushing the hair back from his face. Gabriel had told me that his powers were
extraordinary enabling him to turn another strigoi, witch or human into a
fireball.

Gabriel took my hand and led me away from the
dais. When I turned to look back at Arianne her eyes were fixed on us.

‘Gabriel,
you
must do this,’ instructed
Lewis.

Gabriel looked shocked. ‘No. I have not
performed this before.’

‘Do as I command. If this is so important to
you then it should not be a problem.’

He glared at his master but it was obvious from
Lewis’s own look of steel that he would not relent. The younger returned to the
dais, clearly not forewarned of his participation in the ritual. I was coming
to learn this about Lewis
;
his desire to test the
loyalty of others. Gabriel was still unsure of his commitment to this act until
Arianne reached to touch his arm.

‘I want this,’ she said.

Gabriel gazed upon her and paused for a moment
before he bent suddenly to feast upon her neck. I heard her gasp, her hands
clawing the air for just a moment as if grabbing at the last moments of her
life. I could see blood trickling into her hair. Lewis watched on with
detachment.

I wanted to run from the room. ‘Enough!’ I
cried out.

‘Stay away,’ he warned

I had read that she must be almost between this
life and the next before becoming a strigoi. That her soul must first leave her
body and then through the smell of blood return once again to her form. I knew
also that she must feed directly after her rebirthing.

It was then that I noticed the bundle on the
floor move slightly. I made a move to go towards it but Gabriel stood up
suddenly. I could see his profile and the trickles of blood on his chin. He did
not look handsome but some wild beast, his eyes closed, his breathing deep.

Lewis said something in ancient
witch
speak
. These words were full of magic and I knew their
meaning: he was calling for the soul to return. Above Arianne a small mist
appeared and hovered.
I looked at her lifeless body
,
her eyes open staring backwards
. She was dead.

The mist hovered and Gabriel bent down to pick
up the bundle from the floor. As he carried it toward the table, Lewis
continued to chant and the mist swirled suddenly, spinning fast and reentering
her mouth. She sat up suddenly her eyes sunken, skin shrivelled and grey.
Another strigoi appeared from the darkness with a rod of iron, burning hot with
orange at one end. He held Arianne’s arm and pressed the heat against the skin
on her wrist, which sizzled and steamed. Arianne did not seem to notice this
happening and there were no cries of pain. When he released the rod, I saw the
blackened circle etched into her skin, which would eventually fade to purple
;
the symbol of the coven and a pledge of loyalty.

Gabriel pulled the sheet of the bundle and I
saw that it was a boy only slightly younger than me. It took me a few moments
to realise that the limp hair and grimy face belonged to someone I knew.

‘Claude!’ I shrieked. He saw me through half
closed eyes but he did not seem to recognise me. His breathing was shallow.

Gabriel stopped for a moment.

‘Get her away,’ rasped Arianne, standing
angrily.

The display before me was sickening, the
malevolent deed evident in the very ugliness of her.

Gabriel laid Claude across her lap and Arianne
bent down.

I rushed forward screaming.
‘No,
Arianne.
You can’t. Not Claude!’

Gabriel pulled my arms behind to restrain me.

‘I know him,’ I screamed. ‘Arianne knows him. I
cured him. Where now is your pledge to avoid the innocent?’

‘Arianne found him on the streets. He had left
the monastery only to turn sick again. He is dying Lilah. Such pledge does not
apply to those so close to death. He will feel nothing but relief.’

‘He is a child. Why did you not heal him?’

This accusation stopped him and he looked back
at the boy. I noticed that Arianne’s
eye teeth
had
grown and she bent down to the neck of the boy.

‘Stop!’ But she ignored me. She was new to this
and Lewis stepped forward to puncture a hole in his neck. She bent down to
absorb his blood this time.

I continued to fight against Gabriel. I was
crying now and Lewis had his back to me ignoring my protests. Gabriel turned to
me and whispered hastily.

‘Look at me. Whose life is more important?’

‘You are more disgusting than I thought. I am
not like you,’ I spat, never before so enraged.

Lewis turned then but not before I noticed his
slight amusement. I cannot say why but Gabriel chose to set me free at that
moment, his face impassive.

Arianne was weak and her suckling was
insufficient to kill the boy. I ran to pick up Claude. He was nearly my height
and with difficulty I hoisted him up with one arm, dragging him away from
Arianne.

Arianne made to grab at him but she was not
quick enough and let out a
high pitched
squeal in
frustration.

‘Arianne, this is the boy you begged me to
save. Now you would have him killed’

‘You don’t understand. He was given a second
chance but he was not meant to be. Your healing was for nothing.’

‘You sound so cold and heartless. I cannot
believe that you are like this.’

This person who I had idolised was now changed.
Could she have been damaged and broken all along, the monastery being the glue
that held her together.

Gabriel was responsible for this. He looked
with sorrowful eyes, only now realising that the child should not have been the
one.

I lay Claude on the floor and placed my hands
on him. Arianne rose from the table and tried to prise me away. I turned and
slapped her no longer caring what she thought. It was as if the windows to her
soul were closed.

She raised her hand to strike me but was
grasped by Gabriel.

‘Come,’ he said to her. But she pushed him
away.

When she lunged at me again she was thrown
against the wall. I had a moment to see that the force had come from Lewis.

She stood up and looked at Lewis. ‘You!’ she
pointed. She ran past him and up the stairs. There was madness about her.

Gabriel bent down to feel the pulse of the boy.

‘It is too late, he will not live.’

I felt the heat go through Claude’s body and
then nothing.

‘I cured before. Why not this time?’

‘
Sometimes the souls leave
quickly
,
sometimes they hover
. Having healed
him before, the disease has probably recognised your forces and found a way to
block you. It rarely has effect the second time.’