Page 76Initiation

It was always difficult to do a thing like this so deliberately. Even though Seriph was willing and waiting, it still felt weird and disconcerting to approach her. She looked so young, so fragile and yet so deep. And she was a virgin. But did that even matter? If I remembered correctly, the young vampires I'd known were all virgins when they were turned. But was that necessary or just coincidental to the choice of our maker.

Another thing occurred to me, could you turn those that were bigger than yourself? You wouldn't have enough blood to fill them if their body mass was much more than your own. And it felt like that played an important part.

It was time to take her.

I sat down next to her, taking her in my arms as she leaned against me. She offered her neck to me, brushing her hair aside, her nimble fingers caressing her own skin. It wasn't as pale as my own skin, but not far away from it. I'd fed well this night, I was ready for this. At least my body was.

I bend my head, opened my lips and moved for that sweet spot on her neck. As soon as my teeth pierced her skin, her body went limp in my arms and I almost dropped her. It had never happened to me before that someone actually fainted like that. Mostly they just froze in place, feeling relaxed but not requiring me to hold them in place. And I never fed so much that it became an issue.

But she fainted, with naught but a breath to the moment.

Her blood was... Very intense.

Normally I had to focus on the blood to see memories of the person. If I didn't look too carefully, it passed me by without bother. But this was like being in a room full of televisions, all on a different channel, all with their speakers on full volume. But then some more, they weren't just images, they were full experiences, a kaleidoscope to all the senses. And she had so much of those.

Suddenly I could feel every grain in the wood below me, in a vividness that I'd never felt before. And to make things bearable to my own mind, I took anything I recognized and held onto it.

So I myself, brighter and fuller than I'd ever seen myself. Lit by a candle, shadows playing on my clothes and face, looked at from below. Words back and forth, the sparks flying inside my head. Her thoughts, so fast and fluid. A structured chaos, like her senses. Then the air in my lungs to blow out the candle, muscles moving quickly and precise, movements without hesitation.

The dangerous dance in the dark.

It was an amazing sensation to see how she saw. She could move that fast because she noticed the displacement in the air when I moved my muscles even slightly. A slight turn of a head, feet moving for support. And her responses were almost instinctual.

With another thought I went further back, flashes of training in bright halls, wood on the floor, other people standing around. Even the master having little chance against her. Her head was so full of information, she knew exactly where everyone was standing, where their weight was placed, which muscles were tensed. Like her own body had nerves that reached out into the world.

Her heart was slowing down.

I could feel her whole body now, almost felt the blood flowing through it, or rather the lack of it. Felt how her body started going numb, tingling annoyingly as if she'd sat wrong for a while. It was as if her feelings were reflected in mind.

Becoming slower.

I had to stop, her blood was so sweet, so intense. But I knew it was now really time to stop. Her breathing was deeper still, slow and calm. Her body was completely limp.

Even slower.

I released her. Kissed the wounds to close and let her lay down on the wooden floor. She looked so peaceful and pale, as if her skin was made of the finest porcelain. There was something untouchable about her, something so pure that no one would have thought she was a mistress of evil. Or at least a crime-lady.

My body was still over-sensitive when I bit my wrist the sensation was so strong I had to summon all my strength not to faint. I kind of understood how she was feeling. But I had to stay awake, for her. If I left her like this, she'd die. Hardly any blood left in her whole body. Just enough to be alive, but not enough to stay it.

Slower still.

With my fingers, I pulled the wound I made with my teeth further open. Willing the wound to stay open and not close just yet. Taking a deep breath, I moved my arm over her lips, allowing a few drops of blood to fall. I could feel each and every one, like a sting through my arm. Her mouth moved just a little, a pure reflex caused by the warm fluid it felt. With a smile, I pressed my wrist against her mouth, forcing it between her lips.

And I waited, her heartbeat so slow it had almost stopped.

In my mind I heard the annoying beeping sound that one would hear in a hospital when a heart stopped beating. My eyes closed, all my focus was on my wrist. Bleed. Feed. Taste. Take.

A shiver went through my body when her tongue, still as a reflex, touched my arm, right on my wounds. I didn't have to watch to feel her throat swallowing the blood it had. Her lips tensed, wrapping themselves more around my skin just as I had done earlier today. Her tongue again, another shiver and another move by her throat.

Her head moved, she was waking up. She started to suck on the wound in my wrist now, actively drinking my blood. With so much of her blood still in me, it felt very strong, as if I was being sucked through a straw into someone's body. Her tongue lapped at me, her teeth started pressing into my skin, her arms moved to hold my arm in place.

A steady beat.

It was as if a wave of heat moved through her body, a traveling heat that was transported by her own veins, but still a stranger. Her body was transforming from the inside, subtly, stealthy. She still drank from me, but slower. Her heartbeat was a little faster again, but very regular, steady and safe. Her teeth were a little sharper, they grated against my skin but did not pierce it. The flow was slowing down, I felt a little lightheaded but nothing that stopped me from feeling everything.

When I opened my eyes again, she released my wrist. Her eyes opened as well and looked into mine.

Her eyes were almost pure silver.

That was it, the deed was done.

Alea jacta est.