WitchBite

The Horrible Balance

 I followed Limbani in total silence. Nothing but the solemn echo of my footsteps which now felt like battering rams to my ear drums, could be heard and it made me feel small. Like the quiet was a presence and the noise I couldn't help but make was the rudest of interruptions. I wanted to speak, to say something. I'd no idea what was happening other than the love of my life is now dead, the closest to my heart was the one to kill him, and is now being hunted by a trio of Vampires who were apparently bored and hadn't "played" in a while. But I couldn't. It felt disallowed.

I'd pondered whether she intended to walk me home, when upon exiting the building and meeting the road, we came upon a slick, black, car. It seemed too short to be a limousine but not short enough to be your average people carrier. A man; dressed in fine, almost featureless, black clothes, a hat, and starkly white gloves, exits the drivers seat and approaches the back door, opening it with a click where he gives a slight nod from beneath the shadow of his hat as Limbani and I approached and entered.

Awkwardness pervaded the air, as the leather of the seats squeaked unnervingly in my search for something of a comfortable position, but soon we were both seated opposite each other as the car started into life and began to move.

I couldn't help staring at the box that now rested firmly on Limbani's lap, it was like my eyes were pulled to it by some new form of gravity, and it pulled my heart along with it. I became more and more aware of myself as time went on in silence. My throat hurt as if I'd swallowed shards of glass, my eyes were tired and tearless, they ached new meanings of dryness. And I found myself devastatingly alone despite being in obvious company, my arms crossed themselves to hug at their sides, like they were trying to fight off the shadow of an invisible and unwelcome stranger. It caused a shudder to sprout its way down my spine in delayed footsteps, and stretch out across my shoulders.

"Is he..." I eventually asked, grasping at the sudden courage I'd found as the vehicle bumped over a speed bump. I coughed in an attempt to clear the scratchiness in my throat. "Dead?" it felt like such a silly thing to ask despite the brevity of the situation. Of course it was silly, I'd seen him die. Fall into a pile of ashes right before my eyes, yet there was a small glimmer of hope budding its flower in the pit of my stomach, and it bade me to ask the silly questions.

In a motion my eyes couldn't keep track of, Limbani procured the knife; holding it out-stretched to the full length of her arm, and horizontally.

"What do you see, my love?" Her voice called outwards, it was soft yet encouraging. It battered away any deep-seated fear within me, shattering its blackened tendrils again the soft leather interior of the car. If only for a moment of stark confusion, it was gone for now.

I furrowed my eyebrows as I took in her request, almost daring to question what the point of it was, but ultimately decided it would be best to follow her instruction. Shifting a little closer in my seat, I studied the blade intently.

It looked simple enough, like it was a grade above a common kitchen knife. A cool, threatening keenness to it's edge harkoned whispers of what had transpired, and it intimidated me to almost turn away. But I studied further, gesturing that I be given possession of the instrument, to which Limbani softly agreed. Twisting and turning the knife in my grasp I began to notice a small, discoloured sheen remaining on the blade. I procured some of the resin on to one of my fingers before rubbing it with my thumb.

"Poison? She poisoned the blade?" I asked, not fully understanding why I was tasked with this as opposed to just being told, as it was clear by the slight nod of her head that she already knew.

"Why do you think, my love, that Vampires are often called: immortal? All things die, as a Witch you know this stronger than any truth, so why then is it that Vampires are called such a thing? It is such a burden, such a curse, to be so resilient to the only absolute truth in all of existence. When your ancestors cursed us, eons ago, they were not powerful enough to refuse the most incontrovertible accordance of reality. It's just a fact. Nothing is powerful enough to do such things." She began to explain.

"So... he is dead?" I asked once again, only deeper in my confusion than I was before, so much so that it began to hurt. Ache at the sides of my temples.

"All things die, my child, and Aramis is almost such..."

"Wait, so, he's alive? How? Can we bring him back? Resurrection magics are dangerous, but if I have a piece of him, I'll rip the sky asunder to return him to us." I was emboldened by her words almost. That flower of hope began to blossom into a righteous determination, and I clenched my fist around the knife like it was a sword with which I would slay any mythical beast that would interpose with my quest to bring him back.

"Aramis was over one hundred years old, my love. Tis but a child in the average lifespan of a Vampire. But, we have our ways, our laws, and they must be taken in to account. Aramis has died. But not in totality. It was not a true death. We can rejuvenate from the smallest of morsel with aid from those that love us, but if we did so for everyone of us that fell, the balance would fall, and the world shall be thrown in to a chaos it has not seen in thousands of years."

"Fuck the law! Fuck the code! Fuck whatever, if you can bring Aramis back: do it. I don't care what balance it may tip or whatever secret mumbo jumbo rulebook you Vampire types are always beholden to. Yes, I am aware I am being horribly disrespectful right now, but it's been arguably the worst day of my life, and I need him back. Please..." My anger spiked, somewhat pathetically. After just hearing that it is very possible to return Aramis back, and with the way that she said such things hinting that it isn't much of a task, which is a mind-blowing concept in itself, now she speaks of it maybe not happening because of some words people no one met agreed upon? I hate to say it, but I was rearing up to attack her if need be, and spirit what remains of Aramis away with me. I'll figure out how to bring him back on my own if I have to.

"I am sorry, my love. Despite my position as Matriarch, I must bring this matter to a higher council. They will decide what should be done with my son."

"But your his mother... Please..." My voice quivered in defeat. The fact she didn't seem to change her tone or mannerisms at all at my sudden outburst of anger, quashed any thoughts of physical rebellion immediately, for it was clear that it would be no effort at all that she could dispose of me.

"I am also a Matriarch. If all leaders followed the bleeding of their hearts without thought of those around them, then we all would of drowned in their gluttony before stumbling from the first cave. I am wounded, my love. If you think the breaking of your heart even compares to the shattering of my own, then you are enfeebled by your own self preservation and this conversation has no business falling on deaf ears."

"When will I know? Will you tell me of the decision that gets made, no matter the result?"

"I give you my word, my love. That I will deliver the news personally to you."

The car rolled to a stop, its breaks squeaking somewhat as it did so, and it was all of a sudden apparent that we were now outside Tithe Manor. I could feel sadness begin to bubble up my throat once again, and before I knew it; Limbani had brought me into a warm and comfortable hug, allowing me to sob quietly into her chest as the exhaustion hit me like a steam-train. She hushed and cooed, rocking slightly in an attempt to quell my sadness. It was comforting as the minutes passed, I wasn't rushed or shamed, and when the time came that I had no more tears left to give, she wiped my cheeks with the pad of her thumb, before planting a soft kiss on my forehead. It was as if I was child once again, and Auntie Janet was soothing a scraped knee.

I was left with the gentle smile of understanding as I exited the vehicle, and assaulted by the cold, midnight, air as my feet hit gravel in their steps. It was but a few yards to the door, and yet each step felt like it would take a mile.

The manor glowed softly, welcomingly, with the windows alight in hues of hushed yellows and the golds of candle light. The lovingly cared for plant life, spilled it's way downwards from the various pots and window ledges, bristling their leaves as if welcoming me home with a delicate excitement. It was beautiful, and almost everything I wanted. Yet no thought of home dashed the fear of the days to come that crept from the edges of my chest, like the spindly legs of a spider stretching from its den.

In the dark of the night, the light of the manor doing nothing to banish the shadows that pressed upon my shoulders like a heavy cloak, I was left to worry. What horrors were still yet to come?

A/N: Hey guys! I hope you enjoy the chapter. I know it's a short one, but we were over due for a little bit of extra lore, or at least hints towards it. Let me know what ya think ^,..,^