Aeternum Amor, Page 2

  Through two nightclubs and three alleys he trailed her before finally being close enough to catch her without effort.

  He placed one hand over her mouth and one around her hips and drew her close to him. "Greetings," he spoke softly. His vampiric nature was as close to the surface as it could be and still not break through. It was with effortless ease that he seduced her and drank from her. He stopped soon, sated for the moment. She was still alive, however. Things such as that happened, but he knew what to do when they did. He captured her eyes with his own for a moment and stared into them. "Forget," he said softly, willing the memory of the feeding out of her mind.

  She sunk to the ground, eyes closing. He leaned her up against the wall and stepped back. It was then that he got a clearer look at the one who had become his food. She was in greys and whites, thin, her face narrow.

  She looked like Brigett.

  Koios turned and ran headlong down the alley. His thoughts swam in his head, creating a confusing storm of them. He knew he hadn't killed the girl. He also knew that he wasn't the one responsible for the death of his love.

  His thoughts plagued him, however. And it was all he could do to keep his mind off of them.

  When he finally slowed enough so that mortal eyes would be able to see him pass by, he was nearing the suburban part of the south. The lawns were well kept and the trees were high and easy to climb. His senses picked out a few of his Court nearby, hunting that night as well. They were the older ones, those that could go longer without feeding. They knew how to control their hunger and did so often. While the suburbs were not teeming with humans as the other parts of the city were, there would periodically be one coming home from a late night or leaving early in the morning. They were tired then, and easy to subdue and their blood was enough to last the older ones a while, sometimes even months.

  He made sure that he kept track of their whereabouts so he didn't infringe upon their territory. Others had been forced to Greet the Mane for much, much less. There were only a few things worse than territory infringement in Diu's Court, and those were rarely spoken of.

  One of the few places he felt were free was a church towards the middle part of the suburban paradise. Before the older ones could find out what he was doing, he made his way to the church. Across perfectly manicured lawns with no weeds, past houses with the mom, dad, dog and their 2.5 children he went.

  Though the night wasn't lit by the full moon-- or any moon-- the light from the stars made it as bright as the day he remembered in his dreams. Within five minutes, he had made it to the church and the hallowed ground it stood upon.

  The church itself was small, really. On a good day, it would fill to its 100 person capacity. But as it was so small, the builders had time to focus on other aspects of the church, such as the stonework and the windows.

  The stonework was breathtaking. Gutters disguised as gargoyles were about the top, green with age. Tiny flower vine were carved into the stones and mixed perfectly with the real ones climbing the church. Even the doors--heavy and ancient oak-- were gilded with carvings and hints of gold.

  The windows though. If the walls had been works of art, the large stained glass windows were masterpieces. Each one showed a separate scene from the bible, beginning at Genesis and going through what Koios thought was the end of the world in Revelations. Colors he had never seen with his human eyesight suddenly appeared, brighter than he thought possible.

  He was overwhelmed by the sheer beauty of the place and was grateful that he was still young by vampiric standards. If he had been any older than he was now, the non-existence of his damned soul would prevent him from entering without pain. At 100 years, he wouldn't be able to set foot inside without bursting into flames. A century later, he wouldn't be able to even set foot on the hallowed ground churches and other religious buildings were built upon.

  He went through the doors and was immediately greeted by the sight of a cross. He let out an involuntary hiss and moved away. He turned and was faced by yet another cross and let out another hiss. From behind his arm, he peeked out for a place devoid of the holy sign.

  The choir loft, he thought with a grin. And, if his hearing wasn't flawed, there was a heartbeat coming from up there. His belief was affirmed when a female voice came from above and floated down to reach him.

  As a vampire, Koios fed on energy. In order to get that energy, however, he needed the blood. That energy flowed in and out of him and was, to an extent, malleable. That was how he could leap to heights previously unattainable to him, hear and see better than mere mortals, and how Diu could have wings.

  From his earlier feeding, Koios has energy in excess. He psychically grabbed some and drew it about himself like a cloak. Then, he began to form it into a pair of black wings and became an angel of death.

  With a flap, he rose silently off the ground and made his way over to the shadows of the loft. He landed softy and pulled his wings about him before looking at the singer.

  For a second time that night, he forgot that he didn't need to breathe. He sucked in a lungful of air and he nearly choked upon it. Fighting the reflex, he pushed it back out and kept his invisible appearance. He took another look then, to make sure that he was seeing what his eyes showed him

  She had light blonde hair that fell to her waist. She was tall, thin and wiry. Dressed in flowing white clothes. And had a Celtic knot hung around her neck.

  The singer looked exactly like Brigett had before that night.

  His fear of that night consumed him. He saw red and moved out into the open. All thoughts of a hidden killing had left him at the sight of Brigett. He would kill her quickly and be done with it. Perhaps then he might finally be rid of the guilt he felt over not being able to save her. The guilt he had carried for ten years. For then it would finally, truly, be his fault.

  He leapt out from behind a pillar, ready to strike as soon as he landed. She turned to look at him, shock on her face. "James?"

  "I am Koios!" he yelled out as he grabbed her frail body. He not only looked like Brigett, but sounded like her as well.

  Perhaps it was her.

  But no. He had seen her that night, dead before him. There was no way it could be Brigett standing before him. He wrapped one arm about her neck and the other about her tiny waist. About to yank both in opposite directions, the fake Brigett suddenly glowed white.

  The pain! Koios dropped his arms and shielded his eyes with them as he scurried into the darkness.

  When the light subsided, he looked up again.

  There, in the choir loft of the old church as a woman surrounded by white light. Her feet weren't touching the ground.

  She had wings.

  "And I am Anahita," she spoke softly, "if we are to use new names."

  IV- Tenebrae

  It was improbable, no, impossible, that Brigett was the woman before him. Which was why it was good she had given him a different name than what he had expected. His reality had been bent, but not yet broken.

  He took one last look and then crashed out of the nearest window. The beauty broke to thousands of pieces as it and he fell to the ground. Koios waited for a moment, scrunched up in a ball while shards of glass fell all around him. When he was sure it was safe to move, he lifted his head and leapt gracefully over the glass.

  He looked back once when he reached the end of the block. There was a flash of light from the window he had broken that left him blinded for a few seconds. When it disappeared, he saw that the light inside of the church was gone as well.

  Anahita had left.

  Koios hoped that she would just leave him alone now.

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nbsp; He began his walk back towards their basement lair. The whole way back, he somehow managed to keep his thoughts off of that night and what he had seen in the choir loft. The reprieve was welcome for the time being. He knew that as soon as he fell asleep, the dreams would return, and with a vengeance at that.

  For a moment, he thought about what might happen should he Greet the Mane, the morning. It would kill him, he knew that much. As he died though, would it hurt? It couldn’t possibly hurt more that he felt now, could it?

  But he was no coward and he would not allow himself to take the coward’s way out of this situation. Perhaps Diu would be able to help him. For he was older and wiser than Koios was and might have an idea on how to deal with this intense grief. Yes, Diu would be able to help.

  The help would have to wait until tomorrow, however. All ready, Koios could feel the others returning to their home and the sunrise was no more than an hour away. His safety was in the basement, true. But he wasn’t going to pass out in the communal room like Lupis and the others did. What if their home was discovered? What if a thin beam of sunlight fought its way