The Light of Oriah : Burning Jungle - Part One (6 page)

His face broke into a smile so dazzling it took my breath
away. His fingers slid through my hair, coming to rest on the back
of my neck, and I heard our heartbeats simultaneously jolt, as
together they skipped a beat. He leaned closer, our faces just
millimetres apart now, and I could feel his breath hot against my
skin. He gently pulled my face towards his, his eyes never leaving
mine, until finally, when I thought I could bear the anticipation
no longer, he kissed me.

I had never dreamed of anything so incredible as the feeling
I was experiencing in that moment. His lips were so warm, his
breath so sweet, I met them with my own, the exact same
temperature. His hands snaked smoothly around the base of my spine,
his fingers brushing against my hips, before settling there. I
pushed against him, kissing him harder, loving the way his mouth
fit mine perfectly. I couldn't be sure who broke away first but it
must have been him because I don't think I was ever going to
stop.
Why would I?
Kissing Sebastian was the most delicious thing I had ever
experienced. He laughed at my confused expression.

“That was...”

“What?” I replied in alarm.

“Incredible...” he smiled, his eyes twinkling again. “I have
waited one hundred and fifty three years for you Oriah, that
moment, that kiss, was... everything.”

I laughed, relieved and pushed him playfully. “So, who's
fastest then?” I teased.

“Ha! Well, you cheated short cut girl! I'm definitely faster
than you, but you are stronger than I expected! I'm going to have
to watch myself when you reach maturity in a few years
time!”

“I'm going to get stronger?”

“Yes, you will, for the first ten years after we reach
maturity we are the strongest we will ever be. I won't have a
chance against you my love!” he chuckled watching my
expression.

“Wow, that's going to be fun...” I smiled to myself. “There's
so much I don't know about what I am. How did you learn about it
all, I suppose there are more like us?”

“Yes my darling, many more. There are hundreds of thousands
of Vampires across the globe, so it stands to reason that every now
and then a Child of Venus is born,” he sighed. There was a tinge of
regret, or perhaps it was anger in his voice.

“I want to hear your story Sebastian, tell me how you came to
be this way.” He lay down in the moss, pulling me down with him so
that I was lying with my head on his chest, cuddled into his strong
arms. I sighed, as I heard his heart beating a musical rhythm,
fluttering like a butterfly, the most wonderful sound.

“Well, you know I'm a lot older than you,” he shrugged. “We
lived in a little village outside London, my mother, Caroline, was
wonderful, so caring, so loving. I felt it every day as I grew in
her womb. My father left her and my sister when she fell pregnant
with me. I guess he didn't want me or something,” he looked at the
moon, his beautiful face so serious. I couldn't believe that anyone
would feel that way about him, how could anyone not want him. His
father was a fool, but I decided to keep quiet, let him
finish.

“She was bitten during her eighth month of pregnancy, whilst
she was walking across the fields. The venom sent her into
premature labour and I was born quickly right there on the grass.
He had taken too much blood for her to survive and her heart failed
during the labour,” he said quietly, his tone matter of
fact.

“My sister came running when she heard the screams, but she
was too late. She found me, still attached to the placenta, naked
on the grass. My mother was dead.” I took his hand and squeezed it
gently, his hurt filling my heart, I wished I could take away this
pain he still felt so deeply.

Sebastian continued to look at the sky as he resumed
speaking. “His mate was passing by the same route, and in a cruel
twist of fate, she smelled the blood which led her to us, to my
sister. She drained my sister right there on the field, just
seconds after my birth. I remember her face, she was so very
frightened,” he paused, his brow creased as he recalled the horror.
“For some reason, I suppose because I was infected with the venom,
she had no interest in me and simply left, leaving me helpless and
alone there in the field. As the day transcended into night, I
remember thinking over and over again that I must never bite a
human, that they wouldn't survive it.

I lay in the field for two days, starving, craving, lonely.
On the third day a young woman found me. Her name was Abigail,” he
smiled at the memory. “She wrapped me up and took me home with her,
feeding me sheep's milk, and caring for me. She knew I was
different but she didn't care, she just loved me as a
son.”

“When I began to walk, at just three months old, she realised
quite how different I was. It wasn't long after that I began
hunting. Small creatures to begin with, a squirrel or a rabbit, but
I quickly developed skill and began catching bigger things – foxes,
badger, deer, wolves. She understood then I think. I wondered if
she had been expecting this. But still, her love was unwavering,
unconditional and she took it all in her stride. I stayed with
Abigail her whole life, nursing her through old age, as I would
have my biological mother. When she eventually passed, all too soon
at sixty-eight years old, a ripe old age for that time but just a
flicker in a life of eternity, I went searching. I wanted to find
others like me, and I found many. I uncovered so many Vampire
covens, but found them all so bloodthirsty, single minded in their
hunt on the humans
–
I couldn't be around them. Every time I even considered
exploring that path, my sister's face came into my mind and I
couldn't bear it... I think you are the same though, am I right?”
he looked down at my upturned face, expectant and
hopeful.

“Yes, you're right. I have never tasted human blood. Although
I have never been so close to them before,” I said, ashamed at my
thoughts. “I didn't know they would smell so good... This past few
weeks have been... difficult for me,” I said, not meeting his
eyes.

“I know. You do get used to it, I promise. It will just take
some time,” he reassured gently, understanding consuming his
features. We stayed still, engulfed in the sounds of nature for
some time, our fingers entwined, our bodies warm against one
another.

“Will you tell me your story now my love?” Sebastian's honey
voice coaxed. I nodded, feeling compelled. I wanted to tell him
everything. I sat up, pulling him up with me, then moved back a few
inches to create some space between us to help me
concentrate.

“My mother,
Marie, was so brave,” I said, my voice ringing with both joy and
sadness as I spoke of her. It was hard to speak her name, but
Sebastian's calm presence made it easier for me to open up. “At
nineteen she married my father already carrying me within her womb.
Of all the men she could have chosen, I know she picked the best.
My father was made for my mother, I can't imagine two people more
clearly meant to be together...” I looked up quickly, smiling as I
met his intense gaze. “Well, that is until now.” He pulled me
closer, smiling as he ran his fingers down my arm, sending shivers
through me.

“Continue the
story,” he urged. “I want to hear how you were born.” Flustered and
overcome with a desire to kiss him again, I tried to remember where
I had got to.

“Okay... um,
so my father was in the army. He was huge, and I suppose for a
human, very strong. He was a soldier and my mother travelled to
every post with him. When she was in her second trimester of
pregnancy, they were sent to the Congo. She told me the pregnancy
was normal, healthy, and she felt great. She had a lot of time to
herself and didn't really like the other wives on the compound, so
she spent a lot of time walking along the river, writing and
learning to cook with the locals. They warned her to stay within
the gates but my mother, even when mortal, always believed that she
was invincible.” I took a deep breath. It hurt to talk about her
and I felt guilty sharing this story. I had never told anyone
before.

He saw my
discomfort and squeezed my hand tightly between his, his voice
gentle. “Please... go on.” The warmth gave me the confidence I
needed to continue, although his touch was too distracting, and I
pulled my hand away to clear my thoughts, shrugging
apologetically.

“They had
been there a few months, she was nearly full term and struggling to
sleep. She went out at dawn, walking through the rainforest,
picking berries, eating more than she put in her basket. She had no
chance of hearing his silent footsteps, he appeared behind her like
a shadow and sunk his teeth into her before she even sensed the
danger. He would have drained her dry, but he was disturbed by
somebody, she never saw who. She lay helpless, the venom spreading
through her veins, fighting against it, for once uncertain of her
invincibility. Faced with her mortality, she believed she would
die. She crawled into the bushes and curled into a ball, protecting
me within her belly.

She was found
by a medicine man, a Ngangas, named Rishi and his wife Caya, who
right away worked out what had happened. They took her with them
deeper into the jungle, carrying her as she fought and screamed,
delirious with the pain. They tied her down and cut me from her
womb, but it was too late, I had already been infected. My mother
was locked up in an iron cage, well actually, it was a cage within
a cage,” I corrected. “They knew she would be strong if she
survived, and they weren't willing to take any chances. I still
remember it so clearly, her eyes so unfocused, screaming over and
over again,
“Not Oriah, not my Oriah!”

I rubbed my
eyes with the heels of my hands trying to push the vivid memory
from my mind. It seemed seared to the inside of my eyelids, much
like the final picture I had of my father. I sighed, and resumed my
tale. “We knew she had changed by the silence. It just stopped, and
she went so still. I was thirsty and Caya fed me goats blood. I
watched as my mother realised what had happened, discovered her new
body, her new desires. She was wild. She launched herself at the
bars and I was sure she would rip through them and kill us
all.”

“Rishi began
to chant, low rhythmic patterns, that went on for hours, days. I
still don't know what he was saying, but it was as if he cast a
spell. A calm washed over us all, my mother got some clarity in her
eyes. I trusted her, I knew she wouldn't harm me. But still the
power of a newborn Vampire is too much to be reckless with. My
mother was kept in the cage for a year, Caya caring for me in her
home deep in the rainforest, out of sight of human eyes. They found
I could drink milk as well as blood and I liked both. My mother,
however, would only tolerate blood and she missed the hunt,
constantly demanding to be let out. I believe that if she had
wanted to, she was strong enough to break out of the cages, but
deep down, she knew it was best to wait, to keep us safe from her.
So she was patient.

After a year
they unlocked the gates. She was nervous, tentative, but when she
held me in her arms I felt so complete, so loved. From that moment
were were inseparable,” I smiled, picturing her elated expression
at that first time she held me. “All this time my father was still
in the Congo, searching for his lost wife. He refused to believe we
were dead, he wouldn't give up on the last tiny shred of hope that
he would one day find us. My mother found him easily of course,
following him until he was completely alone, showing herself to
him. He was scared
–
who wouldn't be? But
his love for her was powerful enough to bridge their differences.
He would have followed her anywhere. She brought him back to our
hidden home to meet me for the first time, I remember the way he
looked at me, his love so pure, he made me feel very special.” I
stopped suddenly, realising my mistake.

“Oh I'm so
sorry Sebastian, I didn't think, I get so caught up thinking about
them, I didn’t mean to hurt you, after you just told me about your
own father...”

“No,” he
interrupted. “Don't be sorry, your father sounds like a great man.
Don't feel guilty, it's really okay.” He seemed to mean it although
I was still worried, as I took his hand back, squeezing it between
my own. “Carry on, tell me the rest darling.”

“Alright, if
you're sure?” I paused, and he nodded reassuringly. “Well, we were
reunited again, but Caya was unhappy about my father being so close
to us. She thought he was too much of a risk and couldn't
understand why he wanted to be with us now that Marie was so
changed. She told him to leave but my parents wouldn't be separated
again. And so it was that the three of us left together, travelling
deeper still into the Congolese rainforest, to create a home of our
own; One Vampire, one Mortal and me, a
M
é
lange
, I suppose.”

“My mother
feared for my safety. She told me that Vampires were almost unheard
of and that I was the only one of my kind. She said we had to keep
hidden, keep safe. Sometimes she would go away for weeks, leaving
me and my father alone while she searched for answers, but she
always returned saying she could find no others, that we were
alone.” I shook my head, realising the lie.

“I never went
anywhere alone, never even got close to the human world, so all
this has been quite an adjustment for me. I don't really understand
the humans or know how I fit in to it all,” I finished, shaking my
head.