New Bloods

New Bloods

Warmth surrounded me. It was a moving living kind of warmth that reminded me of being embraced by someone, except that this surrounded my entire body. A more intense heat burned against my stomach and I wondered vaguely what it could be.
Gradually I awoke and came into awareness of the presence that surrounded me. Amberblood was comforting me. She cradled me in an embrace and held me softly. I stretched and sent my gratitude through our connection. The deeper, hotter warmth on my side moved. I pulled open the covers to discover Aivyl who stretched and yawned. His beautiful wings flashed out their full length before tucking in against his body again. I stroked Aivyl’s long feathers and ears, listening to him purr.
“When did I get back?” I asked it.
The burst of thought from Aivyl said that Nathaniel had brought me back. I pressed a cool hand to my burning cheek and tried hard to not imagine Nathaniel carrying me.
Crueler thoughts sobered me. I couldn’t see my friends for an entire year. It hurt terribly and left a hole in the middle of my chest. And yet, I didn’t feel the all consuming depression that I had expected, instead I felt light and purposeful. It would be difficult, but I could wait a year. So long as I knew that my loved ones were alive I could go on in the hopes of seeing them again. And in the meantime, I would become stronger.
I wasn’t sure if the sudden knowledge of my power had somehow unlocked a door, but my entire body felt tingly, almost like when I had dropped through the sky with Esmeralda. I felt like something had aligned within me, like a piece that was missing had suddenly found its way back.
A vivid image suddenly popped into my head, a fragment of a dream maybe. It was me and I was falling from one of the ledges, but instead of screaming, I was smiling and my eyes sparkled strangely. Something wonderful was going to happen. I blinked and the vision disappeared. I dismissed it as my imagination and the effects of my newfound power.
I looked out the window and saw that it must be around mid-day. I had missed breakfast.
Wait… when had I last eaten? Three, four days ago? How could I have lasted this long without food? Or water for that matter? And I hadn’t needed to go to the lavatory either! What had happened to me?
It unnerved me and Amberblood must have picked up of my unease. Her awareness swooped around me, but I didn’t know how to communicate. I’d only been using emotion before, but this was too complex for that.
Amberblood solved the problem for me almost immediately. She sang out a query. It was the most beautiful sound I’d ever heard and I responded, trilling out my question in a series of sounds that rose and fell. Then I stopped and gasped. How had my mind produced the sequence of sound that somehow translated into my words? It didn’t really matter. The music words were beautiful.
I couldn’t describe the feeling or the sounds. There was no instrument that sounded like Amberblood did or any voice that could possibly have kept up with the complex notes, nuances, pitch and rhythm. Our songs were not equated to a language, but were still translated. It was simply a thought process put to sound. It reminded me instantly of how animals communicate to each other, but without the refined and elegant sounds, emotions and thought-touches.
Amberblood sang back to me that within her no creature needed to eat or drink or excrete. She sustained
them with the energies that she drew from the universe. No one needed to consume food or drink to create energy and thus change it and expel it. Even vampires didn’t feel the thirst while inside her.
This staggered me. If the vampires didn’t need to drink blood within Amberblood, why did they?
Amberblood replied that they simply liked it’s taste and thus drank it. I was appalled and shocked. How could anyone enjoy the blood of someone who was dead? It chilled me despite the buffeting waves of warmth that Amberblood sent.
I chirruped a request to Amberblood and she withdrew from my mind. Although she was anchored in my heart it was still strange to have another mind so closely linked to my own.
As a side-thought I called to the receding creature, asking if she would tell no one of my activities, whereabouts or thoughts. She acquiesced without a murmur of distrust.
Aivyl was still snuggled into the centre of my bed and I left him there. I got up and noticed the pile of books from yesterday, lying on my desk.
Next I opened my door. With no surly vampire men to clutter the way, I bobbed out into the deserted hall, looking left and right. None of the doors were open. Had they put me in a deserted wing of the castle?
I pulled back into my room and looked around again. Now I noticed my wardrobe ajar and crossed to open it. Inside were a variety the clothing. Dresses, night gowns, petticoats, breeches, tunics, loincloths and breast bands were all stuffed inside neatly, with absolute no room for anything else.
I wrinkled my nose at the dresses and pulled out normal male clothing before starting to undress. I stopped just as I was about to put on the loincloth. I sniffed beneath my arms and recoiled. It seemed I still need to bath inside Amberblood.
Softly I trilled out to Amberblood. She responded by putting a detailed map inside my head that refused to be forgotten. She sang to me that not many people went to that bathhouse because it was so far outside of the normal living areas. I thanked her and put my old, dirty cloths back on. They had stuck me in a deserted wing.
“Aivyl, are you staying here?” It responded by stretching lazily and turning over, away from me. “Well that’s a negative.” I redressed, grabbed my clean cloths then walked out into the hall. I glanced around me the smiled and took off running.
A vibrant happiness bubbled through me as I streaked down Amberblood’s deserted hallways. There was nothing so childishly fun and thrilling as running through halls when no one was around.
I skipped to a stop right before the passage that would lead into the bathhouse. Still happy from my exercise, I pushed open the door and waltzed into a steamy tropical interior.
The bathhouse was enormous and had a giant heated pool from which curling white steam rose. Around the outside were chairs, tables and exotic tall plants. The roof seemed to be made of glass, but there was so much steam and vapor in the air I couldn’t tell. It didn’t matter; the windows would be so foggy no one could see inside here anyway. It was beautiful and luxurious to the point of opulence.
I stripped off and carefully slipped into the water. Goosebumps rippled over my body at the sudden rush of heat. The water was the perfect temperature to relax in. I drifted farther into the pool, feeling the floor tilt the farther I went in. I started swimming as the bottom dropped out completely.
The swift strokes and the hot water peeled off layer of grime that had accumulated over the past week. I scrubbed myself as best I could without soap then set to floating on my back, looking up at the swirling mists.
The vapor seemed almost alive and as it swirled it created pictures and stories. I stared harder into the steam and saw something. A strange swirling feeling inside my body caught my attention but I forgot it as I recognized the pictures in the steam. I saw two huge birds diving around and circling each other then one fell and the other caught it, falling aswell.
I blinked and the mists reverted back to their normal swirling. I raised a hand to me head, forgetting I was floating and overbalanced. I sank beneath the surface.
I held my breath and continued to sink, staring into the clear water. The liquid pushed itself up my nose and into my ears but I didn’t surface. The light from the surface danced down to me. I hadn’t been in this much water is so long.
My mind screamed for air and I broke the surface gasping just as someone called out, “Is there anyone there?” The voice was timid and girly and I relaxed my guard. I called back, “Yes! I’m in the middle of the pool.”
“Oh!” The voice squeaked, “I’m sorry! Was I disturbing your bath?” I squinted into the mists and made out a figure near the door. I swam over to her and rested on the edge, hidden by the mists, “No, you’re fine, but if you don’t mind me asking, why are you here? Amb- I was told that no one comes here.” My friendliness was surprising even me.
Now that I was so close I could see that the woman was young and pretty. She had blonde braided hair and blue eyes. She was short and shapely limbs, naked but holding a towel over her body.
“I-I- You see, I come here because it’s usually empty. I didn’t mean to disturb you.” She blushed and turned to leave but I called out again, “No, it’s alright. I don’t mind. I’ll swim over the other side of the pool if it makes you feel better.” I swam back across the pool and yelled, “I’m Nicky by the way!”
I heard a splash then a squeak. I giggled; this girl’s clumsy shyness was adorable and she seemed one of the only kind people I’d met within Amberblood.
After a moment she yelled back in a voice not accustomed to being loud, “I’m Angelica.” The relaxed into the warmth of the bath and contemplated this girl. Finally I said, “Are you a vampire?”
I heard a gasp then a hasty call, “No….um….I’m a…witch.” I gasped and flipped around to look in the direction her voice was coming from, “You’re a witch?! Really?”
I must have spooked her because I heard a splashing withdraw from the pool and hurried footsteps on the marble then a voice crying fearfully, “Yes, I-I’m really a w-witch. I’m s-sorry for disturbing you. I’ll go!”
This was too good an opportunity to miss. I streaked through the pool and scrambled out, naked and dripping. I dashed after her retreating footsteps and grabbed Angelica’s arm just as she was opening the door.
Immediately she cowered from me and screamed, “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! It’s not my fault I’m a witch!” I stared down at her before realization dawned on me, “Do you think I’m a vampire?” I laughed and she looked up at me, confused. “I’m not a vampire! I’m a werewolf!” I laughed again harder and Angelica relaxed a little and smiled tentatively before taking a sharp intake of breath, “You’re that werewolf girl that everyone’s talking about!” I nodded and grinned. She smiled more warmly again then glanced down at my hand still gripped her arm. A shadow of doubt passed through her face and I hurriedly let go of her arm. Angelica peeked at my body and giggled. I blushed and she giggled again before handing me her towel. Angelica had another one on. She must have picked it up from somewhere.
I rapped it around my body then said, “I’m sorry for scaring you, but could you….stay and tell me about Amberblood? I’m so new and all that it’s still really scary.”
“I’d be happy to talk to you.” She smiled at me again and I was struck by genuine warmth in her face. It reminded me of the kind doctor back at Blackmoon who had taken care of my nose and lash marks. A quick flash of pain came with that thought, so I set it aside.
“One moment, let me go get dressed.” I retraced my steps to where I had dropped my cloths and quickly scrubbed my body as dry as possible before getting dressed. The mist concealed my body.
I joined Angelica at one of the tables and she appraised me quite obviously. I was just beginning to wonder if my earlier estimations of her shyness were incorrect when she spoke, “You’re really beautiful.”
I was shocked then laughed, “Thank you for being kind. Now, could you tell me about Amberblood?”
She looked slightly worried, “I don’t know where to start.”
“Um…what are the vampires like?” I asked, not expecting the vehement reaction.
“Vampire are the worst kind of creatures in the entire universe! They’re bloodsucking parasites of the face of the earth! The only good ones are really old and wise or Prince Nathaniel!” She stopped and looked surprise by her own outburst. “I-I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to i-imply that v-vampires were bad.” Angelica looked down and blushed. “Don’t worry, they don’t seem very pleasant to me either. So…you’re a witch? What does a witch do?”
She smiled up at me and launched into a category of all the abilities, “A witch essentially bends the elements of the universe. Earth, water, fire and wind are all under our command and we can create things out of other things. We can transport to any place that we’ve been before by will alone and we can speak in another, truer language.” She spoke beautiful, edged words that flew threw the room and gathered the mists into a picture of a rearing dragon. With a wave of her hand, Angelica dissembled it.
She leaned forward and glanced about as if to make sure no one was around the whispered into my waiting ear, “And sometimes we can even talk to….Amberblood.” She said the last words in an even lower tone than the rest of the sentence. I almost laughed but stopped myself just in time. I pretended to look impressed and Angelica blushed a delicate pink again. “So, since you’re a witch, do you know Prince Nathaniel?”
She nodded eagerly, “Yes, I see Prince Nathaniel all the time. He really is the kindest, sweetest person I’ve ever met. You saw him, right? The one who greeted you yesterday at the Blood Day Ball?”

“Blood Day?” I asked. Angelica gasped and her faced went pale. Fearful orbs burned into me.
“What? What’s the matter?” Tears welled in the women’s beautiful eyes and I grasped her shoulders and shook lightly, “What’s the matter?”
“Today’s the day they bring in the New Blood.” Her face, if possible, got more pale.
“What’s the New Blood? What was the Ball for yesterday?” I was growing frustrated with Angelica’s silence.
“The New Blood are h-humans they bring into Amberblood to either…be t-turned into vampire servants or to be killed.” Tears squeezed themselves out of her eyes. “If they’re killed then their blood is drained and…and…”
I began to get numb with dread but I pushed on, “And what?” I didn’t want to know the answer.
Angelica looked up at me, her crystal blue eyes shining with tears. “…and bottled for later.” She whispered.
“When is this going on?” My voice sounded strange to my ears. Maybe it was because I felt so numb. Incredibly numb. “Now.” She whispered and started to weep.

I dashed down the halls, intent on getting to the Throne Room.
It was too barbaric, too sadistic and too evil. How could vampires who didn’t need to drink blood, kill people when it wasn’t needed? Amberblood had said that they didn’t feel the thirst for blood inside her so why were they killing people? It was murder and homicide! They didn’t need to kill!
Revulsion and horror swirled through me as I remembered what Angelica had said before we ran out.
“I c-came here be…cause I didn’t want to see any of them. They’re always….t-terrified and I cry every time. They s-should be in the Throne Room by now and the vampires will take their…” she mumbled, “pick. I came here to forget that they were here and it worked for a bit. T-they’re going t-to kill them or turn t-them, but most j-just want to d-die!” She cried harder after that and I began running.
The injustice of it was like a heavy burden on my shoulders. How could Nathaniel condone this? He had seemed so noble and pure, but was he really just as evil as all the rest seemed? I sped up.
Amberblood resonated out a question to me and I responded with a shrill song of horror and shock. She comforted me and sang that although she did not like the killing within her halls, it had been done for generations and that all had protested when Nathaniel tried to stop Blood Day. He was not happy about it, either.
A hard cord of discontent whispered through to me. I barked out a short questioning note. The song that she replied chilled me to the bone. They brought a child.
She mirrored my sudden shriek of noise. She wasn’t happy about it either. They had smuggled the small one in so that she could not know. The child was planned to be auctioned off, but Nathaniel had caught wind of the plot and taken custody of the human. The smugglers had been punished, but vampirian law stated that anyone brought in on New Blood Day was to be sold off or tapped. Nathaniel could do nothing to save the child.
I couldn’t feel my body. It was so numb. The rage had disappeared like some great black hole had sucked it all away. Then it spewed it back out, twice as hot and twice as ready to kill.
I asked for directions to the where the humans were and thanked her. Her musical voice wove another diagram of the castle into my mind. I stretched out my legs and ran onwards.

I appeared into the Throne Room another way I hadn’t been through before. What I saw inside sickened me.
The humans were lined up against the wall, naked and covering themselves as best they could. Stark terror transfixed there faces and I couldn’t look at their eyes because of the pain and knowledge of death that I saw therein. They were about a hundred of all sexes and all seemed to be adults. But then down at the very end of the line I spotted a small boy, no older than eight or nine. My vision was starting to go red. A child. How dare they! How DARE they!
Roughly two hundred vampires stood across from the humans muttering and writing down things on little books. They’re servants stood on the other side of the room, eyes averted, but I saw more than one wipe at their eyes or turn away from the stark terror of the new livestock.
The aristocratic vampires looked the humans over like cattle and dismissed this one or that before greedily sizing up on one particular piece of meat that looked more appetizing then all the rest. My gorge rose and I pressed a hand hard to my mouth to keep from vomiting. Something brushed my leg and I almost screamed, but a placating mind touched my own, telling me it didn’t approve either. Aivyl rubbed against me once more and shared it’s feelings of loathing for this. I reached down and picked up the small creature that meant so much to me. I rubbed my face in it’s fur and Aivyl licked my face before scrambling out of my arms and onto my shoulder where it clung comfortably.
A voice broke suddenly into my reunion, “Excuse me, girl, but where did you get the creature? It’s mine and I’d kindly like it if you’d let it go!” The hostility in the voice pushed me closer the edge. I was only a simply shuffle forward before my growing rage consumed me. I was too angry to be scared of the vampires. They didn’t know what they were dealing with.
The man bustled up and I was outraged to see he was fat and squat with beady, ugly eyes that seemed to peer under my clothing at the same time as dismiss me completely. A few of the vampires noticed what was going on and turned to watch us, expecting a show. I was well known by now.
How could you possibly have this man as a Master? I asked Aivyl and it shrugged, sending images chaotic images of flight and freedom to an extent. The creature rubbed against me sending thoughts of wind under wings, delicious back-scratches and a warm body.
“I’m sorry sir, but I think you mean the creature that was formerly yours. Aivyl is mine, now.” I barely contained the growl that built in my throat. The man sputtered then hissed at me, “Give me back my Aivyl now, wench or I’ll have you tortured slowly and painfully!” I clenched my hands to hide my claws and spoke to Aivyl out loud, “Aivyl, please show us who your allegiance lays with.” It jumped off my shoulder and glided to the floor where it stood exactly in the middle ground. The fat man sneered and called out, “Aivyl, come here.” looking triumphant.
The winged cat looked the man over, stuck up it’s nose and calmly turned back towards me. It’s tail was stuck up proudly as it loped back into my waiting arms. It climbed back onto my shoulder. I looked over at the man and raised an eyebrow sardonically. I was so far past caring.
The man’s face turned a horrid shade of red and he pointed his finger at me and ground out, “You’ve coerced my Aivyl into becoming your familiar, bitch! I won’t forget this! You’ve made yourself a powerful enemy.” He stormed out. I chuckled coldly, he didn’t know how correct the term familiar was. The vampires who had turned to watch our little act laughed. A few called for me to watch myself, a few called to congratulate me for sticking it to such a nasty old goat. I ignored all of them.
As he usually seemed to, Nathaniel appeared at the most opportune moment. I didn’t see where he came from but suddenly appeared on the dais, along with six Lions’ Guard. He called to the congregation, “Alright, you’ve made your selections. We’ll now begin the auction.” Nathaniel sat on his throne, as a man dressed stylishly with a twirled mustache took the centre of the dais and made a gesture. Leomen pulled the first person from the line and marched him in front of the stage.
“Look at this fine specimen of a man! Look at those broad tanned shoulders! He’d be good as any kind of footman or laborer, and for those of you with more carnal tastes,” the man winked, “a little bit of fun before dinner, right?” He laughed like it was the best joke ever spoken. I found it hard to breathe.
The mustached men went on but I shut it out looking instead at the humans who were breaking down and beginning to weep. The little boy at the very end of the line was pale with wide eyes, but composed. His courage astounded me but then, before my sharp eyes a single tear rolled down his face. It broke something within me.
I could not let this child suffer this kind of fate. To be either turned into a vampire slave or killed. The unfairness and horror of both choices pushed me over the already thin edge. I would save this boy if it was the last thing I did.
My voice rose out in screaming protest without conscious thought. The chatter died away and everyone turned to look at me, annoyed, shocked and amused.
“How can you do this?!” I screamed at them. “You don’t need feel the thirst within Amberblood! Why are you killing and turning all these people? Do they deserve this?!” I howled.
“What’s the matter with you? They’re just stupid humans!” A voice shouted from the vampires. Cheers and applause went up. “Just stupid humans? But they have emotions and feelings! Can’t you feel their terror? Are you really that senseless?” I shrieked. The vampires turned to me and began to shout abuse. A few took threatening steps towards me.
Aivyl growled it’s discomfort in my ear. Awful feelings and images equated to the words,Mistress is getting herself into a very bad situation with very bad consequences.
I didn’t want Aivyl to get into trouble with me. “Go back to my room, Aivyl. Please.” I felt it’s worry for me. Denial came through clear and sharp.
“Aivyl, go back to my room. I’m ordering you.” Resentment and pictures of tortured bodies flowed through me, but it jumped from my shoulder and took off into the balconies above. It reminded me of when I first came here.
I turned back and continued shouting, “Look at them! Do they look like cattle to you? This is horrible! You can’t just sell them off then kill the rest! I-It’s barbaric and inhuman!” My emotion bubbled and built. This was getting me no where and my frustration was reaching it’s peak.
The vampires seemed to have become a mob of dangerous, hissing fangs and eyes glowing with rage. They moved and rippled and I saw no individuals but a single mind with two hundred bodies. All of them whispered, begged, hissed to be let free to tear me to pieces. Nathaniel only had to give the word.
My own rage rivaled theirs and before I realized it I was crouching and snarling at them, growling continuously in a long unbroken bass. The tension built and built until finally we all reached the breaking point and…snapped.
The vampires rushed me. A bubbly, warm swirling feeling appeared inside me and I spat out harsh, angry words that swirled the room into a hurricane. It blasted through each of their red minds, incandescent with rage. It was the whirlwind of my fury that surrounded us like a wall and pierced their very hearts, breaking into their minds where I sent each of them into their deepest nightmares. They were weak, pitiful creatures who thought themselves above the rest of us, yet still had fear. Fear me. FEAR ME! Screams sounded from suddenly writhing bodies and I laughed.
MONKEY!
I stopped. The vampires dropped into unconsciousness and I was left staring into Nathaniel’s eyes. He was holding my head, face inches from my own. My strange awareness of the entire room told me that the humans were cowering into the wall and that every vampire in the room, but Nathaniel, had fainted the moment I’d let them go.
I started to cry. I wrapped my arms around Nathaniel’s waist and sobbed. This new found power continued to swirl around inside me wanting an outlet, wanting to create and destroy at the same time. I clung harder to Nathaniel.
“Oh, Monkey…this is bad. They will demand retribution now. My advisors were already against it when I brought you here, after ferrying the New Bloods across the portal. They thought you were some human I had taken pity on, but when they found out you were a werewolf they wanted to execute you immediately. Now they will now you are a witch as well and the consequences will be harsh. You will either be exiled, feared for the rest of your stay here or most probably….killed.” He whispered the last word and his arms tightened around my back.
“I c-couldn’t let them k-kill the little b-boy.” I choked out and my sobbing renewed. Nathaniel turned slightly and looked behind, at the line of humans. He spotted the boy at the end and his whole face tightened.
“There should never be a child in the New Bloods. It is against the rules, but once he was brought in with the New Bloods there was nothing I could do. It is law. Those who are responsible should have been killed,” Nathaniel hissed, “but law again prevents justice. I cannot kill a noble for less than treason.” I could feel his fury. His body seemed to vibrate with it. It scared me. He was so powerful. I could feel every fibre in him straining to control the fury. I hadn’t been strong enough, but he was.
Suddenly the anger drained from him and he pushed a strand of my hair behind my ear. He looked down at me and for a moment I saw something in his eyes that made my heart beat harder. But then it was gone and he let me go and spoke softly, “Now that he has been with the New Bloods, he will have to be taken by someone or tapped. A vampire would turn him and I’ve already saved too many from death, my household is completely full. My advisors will not allow me any more useless servants. Will you take the boy? I’ll pay the expenses.”
I looked over at the skinny, young boy who was watching us fearfully, just like every other human. His gaunt face reminded me of my struggles and fear on the march to Blackmoon. I couldn’t leave him here. He needed me as much as any of my cubs needed me. More even. I needed something to take care of.
“Yes, I will take him.”
Nathaniel called to the boy. He jerked and pointed at himself, one hand still hiding himself. Nathaniel nodded and the boy walked towards us, using his hands to cover his groin. “What is your name?” Nathaniel asked as the boy met us. He bent down on one knee to be on the boy’s level. “My name is Toby. Sir.” He seemed to regain some spirit and his small shoulders straightened as he stared at us defiantly, horror and fear still lurking narrowly in it’s depths. “Well, Toby, it seems there was a mess of some sort and you were brought here accidentally.”
The little boys eye lit up. “Does that mean I get to go home, sir?” He asked eagerly and horrible pain crossed Nathaniel’s face and he told the boy that he couldn’t go home. The boy’s eyes began to water and he mutter abruptly, bitterly, “Doesn’t matter. Don’t have a home to go back too.” He wiped his eyes and sniffed before turning back to us. What had they done to his family? Or was he a child off the streets, like I was? Could I understand this boy?
“So what am I going to do, sir?” He said it bravely, but his voice cracked on the last. For the first time he glanced at me.
“Lady Nicola has volunteered to take you into her household. She is being very kind and you should be very helpful and good to her, yes?” Nathaniel didn’t mention how Toby would be turned or killed if I hadn’t taken him in. I was thankful.
The boy nodded staunchly, but looked up at me like I’d murder him in his sleep. It was ironic that I was one of the few people who wouldn’t do that. He still wasn’t wearing anything and my eyes blurred with tears of sympathy as I yanked off my tunic and gave it to the boy. I had a breast band on underneath.
Toby pulled the shirt on gratefully and smiled tentatively at me. Nathaniel stood up and pulled a small dagger from his boot. We both looked at it warily. “Monkey, give me your hand. You too, Toby.” We both put out our right hands and Nathaniel pricked on the thumb on each before pressing them together. Our blood met and mingled. A strange tingle passed through me then another connection attached itself to my heart and anchored. Through it, I could vaguely feel the boy who stood next to me.
“Now you’re mistress and servant.” I looked down at the boy and he looked up at me.
I smiled tentatively and, with sincere hope and traumatic fear shining in his eyes, the boy hesitantly smiled back at me.
I ruffled his hair.