Midnight Crusade

Chapter 8

When Vivian woke up, the first thing she noticed was that she was not in her own bedroom. The sheets were way too soft and silky, the room around her a dark blue as opposed to the lavender of her bedroom walls. As she sat up, soreness wracked through her body, a groan escaping her as she threw the sheets off of her. Looking down, she noticed that she was in the same clothes she wore last night at work. Blood was crusted to the shoulder and chest, making her heart race. Was she injured?

Reaching up to her shoulder, her fingers felt around for some kind of wound, but there was nothing. Only dried blood met her fingers. Standing from the bed, she moved towards the large wooden door and slowly opened it.

She was in Viktors penthouse, immediately recognizing the living room and kitchen that she had been in before. Standing in the kitchen, a deep purple bathrobe wrapped around their body, was Viktor. They must have heard her open the door, because they turned and met her eyes. "Ah! Good morning little lady." Viktor said, turning with a steaming teapot in one hand. "Perfect timing, would you like any tea?"

Vivian just kind of stood there for a moment, looking at the witch as her mind tried to work out why she was in their penthouse. The last thing she remembered, her and Kit were sitting in her living room talking, and then everything got blurry and messed up. "W-Why am I here?" She asks, walking towards the witch.

Viktor made a soft humming sound, moving towards the table where the teacups were set up. "You don't remember anything, do you?"

The woman shook her head, entering the kitchen and taking a seat at the table. Vivian watched as Viktor poured a cup of tea for her, the liquid smelling sweet and herbal. "I was with Kit at my house and then... nothing."

"That usually happens with vampire attacks."

"Vampire attacks?" Vivian echoed his words, shock laced within them. "I-I was attacked by a vampire?"

"A rabid, yes." The witch pours themself a cup of tea then sits down across from her. "You're lucky Kit was there."

Vivian's hand goes to her shoulder, feeling the dried blood. "I was bit."

Viktor watched Vivian carefully, lilac eyes calculating. "Do you know what aether is, Vivian?"

"Aether?" She echoed again, the word repeating in her head. "It's like energy or something, isn't it?"

Again, the witch just watched her, taking a sip from their tea. "You are correct, aether is like energy. Rather, it's lifeforce."

Vivian nodded, but was still left confused. "What does that have to do with me being bit?"

"Your necklace." Vivian's hand went to her neck as they said it, the space empty. Panic stirred within her at the realization that it was gone. "When you took it off, you exploded with aether."

"Wait, what are you talking about?" She asked, sitting up in her chair.

"Vivian," Viktors voice took on a serious tone, making the woman uncomfortable, "you're not human, are you?"

The woman was too stunned to speak. The witch's words rattled in her head as she tried to make sense of them. Her, not human? "What do you mean, of course I am?" Vivian said, but even she could hear the hesitation in her words.

"Everyone is connected through aether," Viktor began, "it's an energy that flows through all of us, but only some of us can interact with it. Those that can interact with aether are able to bend it to their will. Take Kit for example. He was able to manipulate the aether within you and take away your memories when you first met. But not everyone can interact with aether, humans for example cannot interact with it at all. Aether simply sits in your body like energy, waiting to be manipulated."