Blood & Winter

Chapter 16: The Castle

            We slept through the entire day, and when I woke I saw that it was late in the afternoon. August was not in the room so I decided to dress and look for him.
            I searched the room for my clothes, and noticed that he must have brought in our bags from the car. I opened the suitcase, and pulled out a light dress. I pulled it over my head, and brushed out my hair. I looked in the mirror and was amazed again at what I saw.
            I felt beautiful. For the first time in my life I believed all the compliments I had always been given. I left my makeup bag untouched and left the room in search for August.
            As I walked down the hall I took in my surroundings. The house was stunning. The walls were covered with paintings, I was sure were worth a lot of money. And statues, and artifacts that looked hundreds, even thousands of years old. I wonder how old Logan is, I thought to myself.
            I walked down the stairs and found August and Logan in the dining room. The sun was just beginning to set, and Logan was in the process of lightning lanterns throughout the room. I picked up a box of matched and lit the candles that were set out on the table.
            When the room was well lit, we sat down to drink. I didn’t hold back this time. I was so thirsty I couldn’t stop myself. And August urged me to drink till the thirst was gone. And I did. I don’t know how much, but I know that it was a lot. I felt high. Drunk.
            The evening passed quickly. We sat in the library searching through Logan’s old books. August bought several from him, for an amount I’m sure was cheap. They were very old, and very valuable. Some of them needed work, but August seemed happy to be able to do it.
            An hour or so before the sun came up, Logan excused himself. He, unlike us, could not walk in the sun. He retreated during the day to a chamber beneath the house.
            “I thought you said sunlight couldn’t harm us.” I said to August as we climbed the stairs to the bedroom.
            “Remember I spoke of the blood lines of the two families? It is said that thousands of years ago we were once one family. A witch cast a spell giving one man the power to walk in the sunlight. She told him to give his blood only to those he trusted the most. He shared his blood with his brother and together they formed a small group of vampires that could walk in the sun.”
            We were lying in bed and he pulled me close to him and ran his fingers through m y hair.
            “The two brothers fell in love with the same girl. And they turned her. But she loved only one of them, and the other was furious. This broke apart the family, and the brothers went their separate ways. The each formed their own covens but never spoke again. They have been at war for many years. They are both thousands of years old, and very strong. Neither longs to kill the other. But the covens through the years have formed a hate between themselves. Many have died.”
            “Where are they now? I mean how many of your blood are left?” I ran my fingers over his bare chest.
            “A little over a hundred. My father’s name, if you want to call him that, the start of my blood line, is Michel. I have only met him three times in my entire life. He is very old, and very wise. Only he knows his true age, but is believed that he is over three thousand years old.” August got out of bed, and pulled a book from his suitcase.
            Crawling back into bed, he flipped to a page and pointed at a picture of a boy, no more than fourteen. The picture was in fact a drawing. It seemed to be a few hundred years old. He was a beautiful child. The picture I was sure did no justice to how he must have been in real life. He had long curly black hair and a wide mouth. His nose was small and beautifully shaped.
            “That is Michel.” He ran his fingers over the picture. “It is the only picture any one has ever been able to capture of him. He stays well hidden.”
            “But he’s just a teenager.” I was amazed at the thought that thousands of vampires were the creations of a mere child.
            “One of the laws he created, and has been able to hold throughout the ages, is that no child shall be made a vampire. It is too cruel. There have been occasions when it has happened, but very few. He was only thirteen when he was turned.” He closed the book and set it beside him on the table. We lay on the thick pillows and stared into each other’s eyes.
            “August, I’m sorry I was so closed off before. I was so afraid that this was all a dream. I was terrified of the love I felt for you, and saying it would have made it too real. I was afraid I would lose you. But now, everything is different.”
            “Yes, it is. I won’t lie to you Cassandra. This life is not hard. You will watch the ones you love grow old and die. You will see the world in a different view now. You will see it change many times, over many years. It is a sad life.”
            “August, I love you more than I ever thought possible. I could never imagine anything that could bring me sadness, except losing you.” I kissed him and turned in the bed. Pulling his arm over me. He pulled me close to him and we fell asleep just as the sun came up.