The Other Side

Taking a deep breath, then letting it out slowly, he gently opened the large wooden door. He staggered slightly when the warmth of the bathroom washed over him, instantly erasing the goosebumps that had appeared in the cold hallway. He breathed in again, warming his insides as well. Next, he grabbed the shoulders of his pale robe that he hadn't even bothered to tie closed, pushing it down his body. It fell with a soft thud on the tile floor.

The water in the bathtub sloshed around when its occupant dunked their head under, then brought it back up. The other, still outside the tub and nude, shivered. He put a nervous foot on the first of three steps that circled around the large tub. He climbed the rest of the way, dunking his legs quickly into the insanely hot water, causing him to flinch. He forced the rest of his body into the scorching liquid until his chin rested just on its surface. He watched as the tips of his hair darkened into a deep crimson underneath the surface, different from the paler orange-red color of the dry length of the rest of it.

The other person in the tub, another man, observed the specimen across from him. A wicked smile curled on his lips, amused by the other's obvious discomfort. "Is the temperature too high for you?" A small laugh curled around the question.

"You know it is, Anubis," the red-haired one said, his voice monotonous. He looked up from his own wet hair underneath the water. His eyes were met with the now familiar face of his companion. Anubis. The ancient Egyptian god of embalming and mummification. The name fit.

Anubis' smile turned genuine, closed-lipped. His dark brown eyes narrowed in his amusement, and he tilted his head to the side. His long dark hair, curling slightly with wetness, fell around his shoulders and tickled his face. His skin was pale, but had a strange glowing tan color about it. The color of dark skin that had not met sunlight for thousands of years.

"Did you know, Jacob," Anubis started, looking off to the side. He twirled a lock of dark hair around his finger absentmindedly. Jacob waited patiently for Anubis to continue, aware of a small headache starting just behind one of his eyes. "That heat causes the heart to pump blood faster?" Anubis paused again, letting his hair fall back into the water. He looked at Jacob now, his dark eyes locking with the other's lime green ones. "Have you ever," he continued finally, "Noticed the difference in taste between slow-moving blood and fast-moving blood?"

Jacob swallowed past a lump forming in his throat, his headache spreading to the back of his head now. He knew it was the heat of the water causing it. And he knew that he would probably pass out soon if he didn't cool down. And yet... And yet, if Anubis was truly alluding to what Jacob guessed he was, then...

"What's the matter?" Anubis was still watching Jacob with unnerving intensity. "You look a bit... flushed," his lips quirked again. Jacob sighed and his headache increased, spreading to all areas of his head. His vision started to blur and his breathing quickened. Anubis' expression went blank. He lifted his arms up out of the water, spreading them wide, inviting.

"Come here," he said.

Jacob didn't move for a second or two. He had been waiting for this moment for a long time. The realization that Anubis was finally, finally going to do it was... staggering. He breathed in deeply, trying to calm himself. He didn't feel the heat of the water rush by his bare skin as he moved forward, inch by inch, toward the other man. His headache receded into a mere pinprick at the base of his neck. Once he reached the other end of the tub, he hesitated, just inside the reach of Anubis' arms. He looked up into the depths of Anubis' dark eyes. A sudden feeling of uncertainty fluttered in his stomach, and he looked down.

"Jacob?" The annoyed frown was audible in his voice. "Why are you hesitating? You've wanted this for years now." Anubis sounded angry. Jacob stared hard at the faint darkness of Anubis' bare chest. "Do you want to turn back?" Anubis rested his arms on the outside edges of the bath; "Were all your claims of faith to me lies?" His voice was cold. Jacob shook his head quickly.

"That's not it," he said. Keeping his head turned downward, he looked up at Anubis with his eyes. "It's just... I've been waiting for this, like you said, for years. You've led me down false trails before and-" He stopped midsentence, surprised at the look on Anubis' face. Smiling- he was smiling smugly!

Anubis laughed, "That makes me feel happy." He chuckled now, deep in his throat. "To know that you have grown out of your blind faith in me."

"What-?"

"I would rather have a partner who is cautious of me than a stupid dog- a puppet- following me around for the rest of eternity."

Jacob didn't know what to say to that. He head up, he stared fully at Anubis, thinking. Anubis opened his arms wide again, pulling Jacob close. The latter felt awkward when his own bare skin met Anubis'.

The darker one ran a palm slowly up Jacob's shoulder, higher still to lift the red hair away from the side of his neck. Jacob traced the edges of the tile on the wall in front of him as Anubis leaned into his exposed neck. Anubis kissed the smooth, clean skin a few times before spreading his lips apart, pressing sharp teeth into the flesh. Not penetrating it, but making the extent of his teeth's sharpness known. Jacob's breath went out in a low anxious hiss.

It was sudden, and it was quick. Anubis' fangs were lodged in the pulse of Jacob's neck, the blood flowing freely into his mouth. Jacob whined quietly, making himself give in to the pain. Anubis' hand came up to hold Jacob's head still, cradling it as he drank.

Jacob closed his eyes, putting his full weight onto Anubis, now unbothered by their blatant nudity. His headache came running back, threatening to split him apart. The rhythmic movement of Anubis' throat and lips continued and took more and more blood. The headache dispersed now, leaving Jacob with a floating sensation. He knew he was dying. His consciousness accepted it, but he could feel his body panicking, working faster in an effort to save itself. The irony was the fact that this was only feeding Anubis quicker and easier. Jacob opened his eyes one last time, seeming to look at the world through a tunnel. His breathing slowed, and he shut his eyes for the last time. His last breath was a satisfied sigh.

Anubis separated himself from Jacob's still throat, cooling blood dripping down his chin. "So ends your life as the human named Jacob... In three night's time, you will be reborn as the vampire named Amun."

And so it ends.