‘Till in the stillness of one dawn
Still in its mystic crown
The muse she went down to the lake
And in the waves she drowned
Vampires didn’t dream, that was what many believed but, on the contrary, as you age the more your brain begins to create vivid images while you slept. They weren’t dreams perse but they were memories twisted by unknown reasons or things.
And even though I am not old enough to dream, to find myself on the blackened shore I swore I would never step foot on again, my maker was. We had a very close bond, one that cannot be removed by another or careless words unless he wanted it to go nor could it be replicated by another.
And right now, on this very shore, on this very night I had wished oh so much the bond wasn’t strong. It was not a night I wished to remember, even when I found myself running towards the water, my sword clapping at my side.
“ISABELL!” I scream the words overlayed with that of my makers.
Godric, wake up my maker, fade, broder! I yell in my mind, across the bond as my eyes lock on the pale face of my sister.
Her eyes wide and full of terror as she reached out to me, her skin pale as the creature dragged her into the middle of the lake. I could not go, I was still weak from not feeding and she was still human. I had failed her, we had failed her and…
Erik…Erik… Godric… My Broder … My love…
I was no longer in the water on that night but on the shore once more, Godric on his knees by myside as fog crept up from the water’s edge swiftly, silently as it curled around us. A light shone in the middle of the lake and grew closer, revealing a figure in white.
I too fell to my knees as I saw the woman, even though I could not see her face I knew, I knew it was my sister… Isabell.
“Isa…” Godric breathes pained, reaching out to the woman. I watched as her face twisted, twisted in a way that all kindness was gone and in its place was wrath.
You left me… you did this!
YOU DID THIS!
YOU DID THIS TO ME!
I shot up quickly, shattering the coffin as I let out a roar of pain. Pam by my side instantly, concern marring her features.
My sisters parting words echoing in my head… parting words that dripped with so much hate and malice that I had not ever heard uttered from her lips.
“What is it?” Pam asks as I remove myself from the debris and gather my things. I needed to make a trip to Texas, I knew that those words uttered were not of Isabell but of Godric’s guilt, he had never forgiven himself for her death, for not being there in time to save her. I knew that in a way he had made Isabell hate him to make it more bearable, to convince himself of the monster he claimed to be.
“I need to go to Texas, my maker needs me. You are in charge until I get back, I do not know how long I will be but it will be a while. I will contact you if I need anything.” I inform my childe, my hand stilling for a second on my sword that rested on my office wall.
“What has happened?” She demands causing a harsh growl to escape my lips.
“I have no time for your questions Pamela! My maker needs me and I will go, it is a family matter!” I snarl, not bothering to care when I saw her flinch. She may be my childe, but she was not family, no Isabell and Godric are my family and there was now only two of the three.
As soon as I reached outside I took off into the air, flying was faster than running or driving and it was a matter of importance that I get there quickly. I could feel my makers despair, feel his grief and rage. It was all consuming and I could not break through that barrier of guilt that contained it all.
“Eric, you arrived; he is destroying everything in his path and no one can reach him. Two have tried and two have died.” Isabel explains her voice tight in worry.
I cast her a quick glance, I couldn’t look at the woman couldn’t bring myself to say her name in greeting. Her name so similar to Isabell and I knew that she was a form of torture to my maker that he kept close as a punishment. In name only, she looked nothing like my sister.
“We don’t know what the problem is, he went to rest and then the whole house shook with his snarl.” Stan drawls off the side as I reached the steps.
“I know what the problem is. I will deal with it; one of you will need to be in charge while I take Godric away from here. We have a place to seek and I know not of when we will come back or if we will at all.” I utter in a sigh before making my way towards my maker. The anguish in his emotions was not something I could ever forget, nor could the resignation and determination before the bond was completely shut.
“Godric, come we are to leave.” I utter urgently, not daring to raise my voice to my maker. He was one of the ancients in our kind and no one dared to cross him. Even I.
“You dare demand me?” He hisses, all sense of his humanity gone and in its place was Death.
“No, but it is time we return to her. Return to the lake.” I utter ever so softly, thanking the gods that my voice did not waiver.
His eyes snapped to mine and it took everything within me not to flinch at the dark abysses, but it wasn’t in fear of the darkness, no, it was the emotion that struck me. Agony, suffering… I knew instantly he had intended not to live another day without his love, his Isa.
“Come Godric, one last time and then… then… I will not stop you.” I gasp out as a tear spilled over and down my cheek. I could see the shock before it was masked, his back straightening before jerking his head in a nod.
He didn’t bother with a bag unlike I, but I knew at some point I would be returning home by myself. Home, there was no home anymore; there hasn’t been a home since that night. I let a sigh escape as I cast a look at the wall above the fireplace to see the painting of Isabell that Godric had commissioned not long before she died.
It was also then that Godric had lost control, killing all the creatures that took her and killed her. He couldn’t find the one that did, none would tell him who or if they did it. We only knew it was of Mermaid decent, the webbed hand leaving marks as it clawed her into the water and under the dark abys.
“Eric.” My body jerked as the command took me, jerking me back from the dark memory.
I took one last look at my sister’s face before making my way to Godric’s side, ignoring the looks his nest members gave us. We took to the sky the instant our feet hit the grass, making our way towards the lake that… that my sister perished. It was instinct almost, the way was always ingrained into our mind; the compass arrow directing us. Though, we moved towards the sunrise; the lake near my own home or where it would have been.
Images – no – memories flashed across my vision of her face, her face twisted into fear as she reached out to me, my name and Godric’s pouring from her lips in a plea for help. I couldn’t move that night, my body heavy with starvation while my chest ached with Godric’s crushing fear and anger. He was too far out and by the time he had arrived it was too late. She was gone, forever lost under the darkness of the lake.
I stumbled slightly, landing on my knee as soon as my feet touched the ground in my distracted state. My eyes locked onto the greyish sand, the smell of forest and water invading my senses with a hint of honey and lavender.
“It still smells like her.” I whisper shocked, confused.
It shouldn’t smell like her… There should be no scent of her here. It has been near a thousand years since she had been on the shores of this lake and yet I can smell her in the sand, coming from the wind of the water as if she was here a mere day a go.
“I can smell her.” Godric whispers, drawing my eyes to him.
His face was pained as he heavily breathed in the scent, but it was his eyes and the bond that drew my attention the most. They were wide and locked onto the lake, confusion and disbelief swirling through the bond swiftly changing from one to another.
Broder…
My head shot up with the voice that travelled with the wind, how could it be that she was still here… still alive?
“I hear her.” I utter amazed causing my maker to choke slightly, something he had never done before.
“And I see her.” He replies strained before moving towards the water’s edge. “I see you.”
I stood ramrod straight, my eyes locked onto the figure that seemed to dance across the waters top. It couldn’t be her, even against the harsh light of the lantern the figure held, I could see the white dress she had died in. But it could be a ruse, one that I would not let my maker go to and perish in the same way as my sister.
Meeting the sun was one thing to our kind… The sensation of drowning on the other…
“Godric, it cannot be her. It must be a ruse, a trick!” I state, pleading with him to step away from the water’s edge.
Broder…
“YOU ARE NOT HER! YOU WILL NOT HAVE HIM TOO!” I roar at the figure as it stops near my maker.
Even with lightening sky I could still not see the sirens face against the harsh light of the lantern.
“It is time.” I froze, my eyes locking onto the woman instantly, the voice was the same; no it couldn’t be. “You have kept me waiting my love, many years I have walked this water’s edge waiting for you… you promised to come back to me. Come, all will be well.”
“Isabell…” Godric breathed as he reached out to the siren’s waiting hand.
“You can join us my broder, walk the afterlife’s waters with me.” She whispers before the lantern’s light dimmed and I was staring into the face of my sister. “I waited so long to see you both, you kept me waiting for a long time.”
“I… I am sorry…” I choke out, quickly stepping to her side and grasping the hand that held the lantern.
“What… How?” I managed to get out as it finally set in.
“I am the guide to Valhalla; Freyja saved me that night when the mermaid took me.” She whispers, pulling us towards the middle of the lake.
“Will you join me in the afterlife? To walk the shores of Valhalla forever by my side?” She asks softly as the sun began to rise.
“Yes, I am ready.” Godric answered, his eyes never leaving her face while mine darted to the sky.
I am sorry Pamela, I release you…
With that, I turn to my sister and nod, closing my eyes as the sun’s rays peaked over the tree tops. One last sunrise.
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