Twice Bitten (41 page)

The plan after dinner was for me to meet my new hosts, who from what I gathered right before Kazikli went foraging for our meal were a reclusive Buddhist sect. Hence his colorful outfit, I suppose, and a similar ‘triple robe’ for me. He even told me a little about the garment, that the collection of robes is called a
‘kashaya’
, which is supposed to represent the original mendicant clothing the early Buddhist monks wore more than two thousand years ago. The ‘triple robe’ is also referred to as a
‘tricivara’
, and the three layers are called
‘uttarasanga’
,
‘antafasavaka’
, and
‘sanghati’
.

Why that information would be important to me is hard to say—especially since Kazikli also told me that virtually none of these kind folks could speak or understand English. Only Suddhodana was able to do that, and since he is another vampire, it looked as if my days would be beyond boring. The jokes about the aged having nothing better to do than bird watch might soon apply to me, as well.

“So what do you think?”

Kazikli had redressed in his colorful robes and held out a pair of fish that sort of looked like rainbow trout, although he said they weren’t.

“As long as they taste good, I’ll be fine,” I said, feeling severe hunger pangs since I hadn’t eaten anything that day. Whereas earlier I was too excited about everything to notice my hunger, it now screamed to be taken care of. “I’ll see if I can find something to prepare and cook them with.”

“That’s already been taken care of,” he said, pointing to a grill that had been placed above the fire pit, and a pair of carving knives resting on the bench he’d sat upon. “Allow me to clean and prepare them for you, and then it should be time to make the short journey to the village.”

The sun had mostly set, but the faint rays were enough to irritate his skin, as light tendrils of smoke drifted into the air above him from his arms and neck. He hurried over to the pit that remained free from even the slightest fractured sunrays seeping through the bamboo canes of our hideout.

Before long, he and I sat together next to the fire. Crickets and tree frogs sang for one another as the onset of night fell upon us. He watched me as I ate, and nothing serious was mentioned by either one of us. I’d already decided in my mind that it would be better this time around to gather my own impressions of my new hosts without grilling him beforehand about them, and Kazikli seemed content to allow this.

Finally, when the near-full moon had risen to where its light danced upon the river, he announced it was time to leave. We followed the roped wooden walkway into deeper jungle, and soon came upon the village he spoke of. Illuminated by a series of torches and pit fires, the village mostly contained thatched huts with only a smattering of wooden pagodas. No doubt at least one of the pagodas contained a Buddha in statue form. I wondered if the idol would be more modest, as the copper, iron, or wooden representations of the Enlightened One, or would it be a lavish golden version?

That night, such questions would remain as mysteries to be discovered.

Suddhodana greeted us, and I was impressed with the peacefulness that surrounded this vampire. Even the dozen monks who accompanied their pale leader carried the same air of holiness and confidence that all was well, and so it would remain. The servants—and I say that loosely, since everyone I encountered that night and beyond were always warm to each other—carried themselves with thoughtfulness and mercy, which seemed to be the rule for everyone.

My new host told me his Sakya clan was immensely pleased to have me there, and they would do everything in their power to make me comfortable. Although I immediately recognized modern comforts were absent from this village, I wasn’t alarmed about it. I knew I should be—and probably would be soon—but at the moment it didn’t matter. I felt unreservedly welcome, and thoroughly at home in my body, mind, and spirit.

Very strange.

I should’ve known Kazikli would be leaving that night, and at first I felt a twinge of worry. But after visiting with Suddhodana just before Kazikli disappeared into the night, I felt assured that all would be well. Real inner peace…who would’ve ever guessed that you could receive this by simply being around an entire population of people who had it?

Yeah, me neither. But it’s true.

Once everyone retired around ten o’clock, I thought I’d lie awake in my hut, restlessly twisting the night away in my bed that resembled a secured hammock. But within a few minutes, I was sound asleep, and enjoyed the most peaceful night of rest I could ever remember having.

Nirvana…at least sort of.

***

At the outset of this story, I said I would stick to the biggest events that have happened since
The Vampires’ Last Lover
ended. That remains true.

I doubt very many readers will feel cheated if I fast-forward a little bit, and move this story along. Resuming this tale in mid May should be a perfect spot to land. Lush springtime in the subtropics! If you think it gets muggy in America’s Deep South, try late spring in southern Nepal. If not for the torrential rains that bring some coolness, it can be damned near unbearable—at least for a young pregnant woman about to give birth and who still craved air-conditioned comfort.

By then, I’d been living with my Buddhist hosts for just over four months. Like many of you, I’m sure, considering my life’s progression at that point from happy care-free college student in Tennessee, to jet setting vampire guest in the French Pyrenees, to the freezing meal in waiting I became for the dragons in the Himalayas, to finally roughing it in ascetic conditions would be one totally fucked-up experience. However, despite the humid spring weather, the last few months spent in that peaceful village near the Kosi River made up for much of the craziness I endured until then.

Primitive? Absolutely. Having to persevere through one challenging issue after another—like how to maintain clean hygiene in a world where a deodorant soap like Dial doesn’t exist? Most definitely. Yet, would I have traded anything to skip this shit and enjoy the modern luxuries I’ve been used to all my life? Not necessarily.

The tender care I received from the females was incomparable to anything I’ve known. Ranging from kindergarten age to old women who could barely get around, their kindness was profoundly humbling. And the fact there were women here at all, considering Buddhism’s male monastic traditions, was a marvel in itself.

The men were kinder souls than I was used to dealing with, but the women were amazing. The bitterness I felt for losing my life’s dreams and being forced to bear a child to feed one vampire elitist society melted into an appreciation for my life as a woman in its simplest terms. I was about to become a full-fledged mother. The miracle that no man could ever understand was upon me, and I didn’t have the crazy hustle and bustle of modern society to spoil any of it for me.

Alaia had been steadily growing within me, and my distended belly made it difficult to get around by March. Keep in mind, these kids grow fast and a full pregnancy lasts only five to six months. Meanwhile, Suddhodana had introduced me to one of his favored servants, named Yangani, who spoke several languages fluently, including English. I was overjoyed that at least one villager besides Suddhodana could carry on a conversation with me, and that Kazikli was wrong! Yangani shared many things I’m eternally grateful for, including the introduction to a meditation routine I believe will stay with me for the rest of my life. That and Chakra alignment. I intend to correspond with her on a monthly basis, since her younger sister lives near Kathmandu and is willing to take my letters to her.

So, why the month of May to resume this narrative? Because of two factors, and both are related. The most important one is that I was ready to give birth at any time. Perhaps on account of that fact my vampire friends returned to my life.

I had no doubt Kazikli would finally reveal my location to them after a period of secrecy that only Gustav and Xuanxang knew. By then, those three fully believed Huangtian Dadi betrayed me, and Ralu was behind the assassination attempt on my life that last day at the palace.

You might question how I know this. I can assure you of this information’s accuracy, since it came to me from Suddhodana directly. I have since learned that Xuanxang turned Suddhodana after he cursed the Hindu gods Rama and Krishna for taking his son from him—the rightful heir to his throne—by inflicting this son with too great of a conscience to bear. Had his son not defected from the path inspired by these deities, there would be no Buddha. Siddharta Guetama would have followed his father’s steps, and the course of Eastern religious thought as well as vampire genealogies would be forever changed from what they became.

But that’s a subject for another time.

Chanson was the first to visit me. I initially mistook her presence in my hut as Yangani, up much earlier than usual.

“
Who’s there?” I whispered into the darkness, as the shadowed shape moved from my hut’s doorway to my bedside.

Less than a day before Alaia’s birth, I wasn’t agile enough to defend myself from any intruders. The male guards outside my door were all I had for protection.

“Yangani? …Reveal yourself now or I’ll scream!”

Praying fervently that it wasn’t one of Ralu’s assassins that had finally found me, I started to rise up in my bed.

“Txema, it’s me, Chanson,” said the dim figure, who had picked up a candle from a table near the doorway. A spark emitted from the figure’s hand lit the candle, casting enough light to illuminate her smiling face.

“Oh my God, it
is
you!” I squealed, incredibly excited to see her. Four months of forced distractions to not think about her or the others suddenly crumbled, and I felt such intense joy. “You’ve finally come!”

“Yes, Kazikli finally told us where you’ve been hidden,” she said, pausing to set the candle on a smaller table next to my pillow. “I should’ve known it would be someplace like this, beyond the reach of prying psychic eyes—including those of us who care deeply for you, cousin.”

She motioned for me to stand, in order to get a good look at me—especially my bulging middle. Then her smile grew even brighter, and she wrapped her arms around me in a hug that was much warmer than I expected. Either the heat came from a recent feed or possibly it was the result of her swift nighttime travel from Xu Zheng Palace or wherever she came from. Slightly disappointed, I briefly entertained the hope of her coolness helping to bring down my body’s feverish temperature.

“It won’t be long, Txema,” she said, her tone bearing the smooth, soothing touch I had long missed hearing. “Before tonight’s moon crosses the Kosi River you will give birth to your baby girl!”

Her beautiful eyes bore the glint of primeval fire. Despite her familial fondness of me and my daughter as her own bloodline, I knew she was excited for the long-term promise that Alaia’s birth and lifeline would mean to the hundreds of vampires who would draw small quantities of her blood from time to time. The same fate awaited me also, and much sooner, since after the birth recovery I would be the only immediate viable source for that blood.

Surely, even the vilest vampires in Gustav’s kingdom knew this fact, as well. But, if it kept my daughter untapped until she was old enough to deal safely with the experience, then I’d gladly do it. I believed Chanson would do the same, if she were still human.

“Where are the others?” I thought immediately of Garvan and Tyreen, and then of Armando and Raquel. “Did you move on from the palace, or are you still there?”

She regarded me with some seriousness for a moment, although her smile only slightly faded.

“We were almost kicked out of the palace after you disappeared,” she said, and her tone betrayed some anger. “Kazikli and Nora were immediately banished by Huangtian Dadi, and almost half of the other vampires left with them. They all retired to an ancient fortress in northern India—one that he apparently owns, but had never mentioned to any of us before. Only Gustav knew of it, and after tensions remained between our king and Huangtian Dadi, the rest of the European nation of vampires relocated to this fortress in March. Xuanxang has also joined us, since his Chinese peers accused him of high treason for his role in your escape. Only Gustav’s intervention prevented his execution, and he was released from the palace dungeon to Gustav’s custody the very night we traveled to India.”

Wow…I guess a lot did happen after I left the ranch. And here I imagined all was well in vampire-land, once the pregnant blood sack was out of the picture.

Chanson eyed me curiously as her fading smile turned more bemused, as if she picked up enough fragmented images from my head to piece together most of a puzzle.

“So, I guess everyone’s angry with me for leaving without saying goodbye,” I said, when she continued to study me with that queer expression on her face. “You all should know it wasn’t on purpose—”

“It’s not your fault!” she interrupted me, shaking her head. “None of us are angry with you! If anything, the anger comes from how frail our alliances have become since Ralu’s rise to power. Across the world, we are hearing of factions and wars among other vampire nations that are either ready to join his growing legions out of fear, or instead, they’re contracting assassins to either kill him or the source of his ire.”