Authors: Davena Slade Nicolaou
She was looking intently into her crystals, hands hovering over runes she had just cast. Daen looked up, they were in one of his many lavish rooms. The Oracle preferred this room for herself. It was darkly decorated, with heavy silks and velvets. She had all of her trinkets and vices of power here.
'Mistress, what is it?'
'We need to move. I need the power of my home land. There are a great many changes afoot. It is no use here, I need to see clearly. We will be like sitting ducks if I miss anything.'
'What on earth are you talking about old woman?' He answered her mockingly.
'Old Woman. OLD WOMAN! You mock me? When you yourself are thousands of years older than I! Daen, be careful dear one, all this…' She swept her arm across the room, 'All this Daen could be gone sooner than you can imagine.'
'So where are we going?' Daen questioned.
'Daen, I think it better if I go alone.' She had changed her mind.
He looked puzzled, rubbing his temples.
'Why am I staying here?' He asked.
'You have much to do, if you want Blue in your life. You have to gain her trust Daen, she’s going to doubt you, question your motives. Especially since you just left her in the garden, you imbecile!'
*
Pierre sat looking out on to the Nile. The sun had just set, the moon already out, reflecting beautifully on the great river. All he could think of was Blue, wondering how she was dealing with all this change, with becoming a Vampyre. He wondered what Daen was up to. He had no doubt that he would be trying his damnedest to seduce her. He knew that Daen’s plan would involve Blue being his new queen forever. He thought about what Blue would think if she knew the truth. If she knew that it was Daen that had bitten her. Pierre decided that no matter what the outcome, Blue needed to know the truth. Pierre wondered how Daen might have interfered with Blue's life before he'd bitten her. If the part Pierre played in Blue's life had been planned and how long Daen had been watching her before Pierre had even known about it.
He remained seated, smoking a cigarette, staring at the reflection of the moon skipping across the rippling water, pondering the past. He relaxed a little more at each exhale, the smoke gently drifting from his mouth. He was losing himself in his thoughts.
'Pierre.'
A beautiful Nubian woman dressed in white silks, held together with clasps of gold, walked over to Pierre as she’d said his name. Her jewelled arms reached out. She stroked his long hair from his face, moving the lengths so she could see straight into his eyes. Her voice was honey and milk, smooth and powerful. She reminded him of Daen. That air of ancient power.
'Yes, your Highness.'
'Pierre, my precious, you truly are a jewel amongst men. If you can not think of anything or anyone other than this Blue girl, then you should go and tell her so. Daen is no match for true love. No matter what he thinks.'
'Tell me one thing Your Highness. Why in the entire known world would you, Goddess of Egypt and all the known Kingdoms choose Daen?'
She laughed.
'Oh Pierre, you are so naïve sometimes. Love is blind. He was my match back then. He intrigued me because he was so different from everyone else, that's why he was chosen as my mate.'
'Really?'
'Well that and I’ve not seen him for a couple of thousand years. He has obviously changed a bit over the millennia.'
Pierre laughed out loud.
'Yeah, you could say that.'
The Nubian Goddess took a seat next to Pierre.
'Pierre.'
'Yes my Queen.'
'Please call me Isis.'
'Yes Isis.'
'Pierre, how did you find me?'
He took out a packet of cigarettes, slapped the pack and took an exposed cigarette. He put it in his mouth, lit it. Held the breathe of smoke then let it go.
'I’d heard Daen’s stories enough to know this area like the back of my hand. I thought it would be worth a shot to try to find some information that shone any light on how he was created, or how I could kill him.'
'So if you found me.' She said, with doubt in her eyes, 'Why has he not once tried to find me?'
She looked down to the floor, her shoulders dropped a little, defeated.
'He thought you were crushed beneath your temple. That and incinerated in the explosion. Whatever happened, he never did tell me the specifics.'
'I suppose. It’s just that for the last two thousand years I’ve been watching what he’s been doing. And not once has he tried to find me.'
Pierre turned to Isis. He touched her face and brought it to his.
'Goddess Isis, never doubt yourself! Daen thought you were dead. He’s been looking for your reincarnation ever since!'
'What day is this when you stick up for Daen?'
'It’s a funny old world isn’t it?' Pierre smiled.
'Come with me.'
Isis beckoned Pierre to follow her into the depths of her subterranean Temple.
A massive room lay before them, silks hanging from the high ceiling. It was bright as if lit by sunshine.
'I can show you things. How to communicate over vast distances with your mind, amongst other things. You’ll be able to visit Blue in her dreams.'
'I can’t do that,' Pierre frowned, 'It would betray her trust. It’s wrong.' He looked at Isis unsure of what she was saying.
'Don’t be silly. It would not betray her trust. Its one of the oldest methods of communication.'
'It’s new to me.'
'A lot of things have been lost over the years.' Isis sighed.
'It’s a shame we’ve lost our way.' Pierre looked at Isis with a melancholy air.
'Come over here and lie down.' She held Pierre’s hand and led him to a luxurious bed. Two stone slabs ornately carved held up the mattress and silks. She lay on the bed beside him.
'Now relax my sweet. Empty all the thoughts from your head. Listen to my voice. Open your mind. Relax all the muscles in your body. Feel your feet relax, feel your calves and let them relax, feel your thighs and buttocks relax. Feel your stomach relax, your hands and arms relax. Feel your back loosen and relax into the comfortable bed. Feel your shoulders relax. Your neck relax. Feel your face relax, your tongue come away from the roof of your mouth. Your eyes are closed. You feel relaxed, you let go of the nagging worries and doubts in your mind. Concentrate on your breathing, breathe in the clean white air, breath in the goodness. Breathing out all of the negative energy. Breathing in and breathing out. Letting go. Feel yourself free.' Isis was trying to get Pierre to use his mind, rather than his body, she carried on, 'Imagine floating free of your flesh. Open your mind. Imagine floating up into the sky. Imagine flying above the temple, above the pyramids. Moving along the river towards the Mediterranean Sea. You fly higher, you can see all the lights of Cairo and of Cyprus in the distance. You head North West towards Italy over the Greek islands. You’re flying fast, over the mountains into France and further on. You fly over Paris and your home town, on to the channel. Over to England, to Blue, to Star’s Mansion. You can see it, you fly around the building. You can see her through the window. She’s so beautiful. You float next to her, stroke her face, you can’t touch her but she reacts to your presence. Stare into her closed eyes. Lose yourself in her closed eyes. You are drawn into her dreams. She is dreaming of her house in the city and of you before she was bitten. It's easier for her that you're in her dreams. You watch yourself kissing her… You wait. Sit on the bed and wait for her image of you to disappear. Then you speak.' Isis still laying on the bed, next to Pierre. Isis was smiling, she had gotten Pierre into Blue’s dreams. All so very easy.
'Blue.'
'Pierre?'
'Blue, you have to believe me, what I’m about to tell you.'
'Why are you talking? You never talk.'
'I’m a guest in your dreams, you’re not imagining me. I’m real. I need to tell you things.'
'You don’t normally speak, I must have drank too much wine.'
'You haven’t had too much wine. It’s really me Blue, it’s really Pierre.'
In her dream Blue turned on him, walking right up to him, she pulled him off the bed,
'Where did you go? Why did you bite me?'
Blue stared into his eyes with burning fury, confused and agitated. Pierre stroked the hair from her face, resting his head on her shoulders, embracing her. He pulled back, looking into her eyes,
'Blue you must know the truth.'
She frowned at him, the hurt blazing though her eyes. Tears forming in her eyes.
'You bit me.' she whispered and slumped onto the bed.
'No, no, no. Blue, I didn’t. Remember. I didn’t look the same. It wasn’t me. I swear. It was someone else pretending to be me.' He begged her to listen to him.
'Convenient.' She gave him an angry scowl.
'No Blue it isn’t. I did want to bite you. Turn you. But I wanted it to be on your terms. Not forced upon you. How could I want that? I love you Blue.'
She looked up into his eyes, the tears still rolling down her face. He held her in his arms.
'Blue I love you so much, I would never wish harm upon you. I miss you so much. I will see you soon.'
'When? When will I see you?' She pleaded.
As Blue asked the question, her body violently jumped awake. She sat up startled, then lay back down, her head on her pillow. She looked around and realised she was alone…
'I love you too.' She said aloud alone in her room.
Pierre regained consciousness next to Isis, in her temple.
'So how was that?' She asked.
'Was that real?' Pierre asked.
'As real as you and I right here and now.'
'Oh Isis.' He sighed, 'It was so strange and so realistic. Like I was really there. I don’t know if she knows it was real or if she thinks it was just a dream. Oh God I can’t remember if I told her about Daen. I don’t think I warned her about him. I was just totally there in the moment. I forgot to tell her everything!'
'Don’t worry Pierre, it will be okay. I promise you, it will be okay.'
Isis was smiling at him, he lay there still half dazed. Her warm eyes reassuring Pierre that in fact this whole mess would work out in the end.
*
Blue lay there in bed startled.
'I could swear he was right here.'
She thought to herself. The covers in Star’s guest room (Blue's temporary paradise) were more comfortable than ever she just wanted to go back to sleep and dream of Pierre. She could swear Pierre was just here. She thought she may be feeling guilty because she slept with Daen, and she wondered what the hell he meant that he, Pierre didn't bite her. She was confused, she wondered who had bitten her. She slammed her head back into her pillow, she covered herself with the huge duvet and screamed 'OH MY FUCKING GOD!' at the top of her voice, muffled in the covers.
'I do miss Pierre,'
Blue was thinking to herself,
'What the hell was I thinking sleeping with Daen. I must have been crazy, I don't love him, it's because I miss Pierre and he makes me forget about it. His blood tasted good. Pierre was just a dream. Where the hell were you Pierre when I needed you? I got bitten by you or someone pretending to be you. As soon as someone else came along off I went, so much as a sniff and I'm anyone's??? I am my own worst enemy!'
Star walked in at that moment, as Blue struggled with her inner daemons. She walked over to the bed, took a seat and peeled back the covers.
'Honey are you alright? I heard muffled screaming. I thought you might be having one of those horrific nightmares again.'
'No nothing like that. Just me doing my own head in. Convincing myself that Pierre is still around.'
'That Monster! That fucking Monster! So you were having Nightmares! God I swear that bastard Pierre is the devil incarnate and he was the one that changed you into this animal you have become… no offence.'
Star gave Blue a hug, after she had just called her an animal.
'I don’t know Star.' Blue said, 'I think there's more to it than we know. I don’t even know if Pierre was the one that bit me.'
'But that’s all you could say when you were bitten. You kept saying ‘Pierre Bit me’, you repeated it over and over, sobbed it in your sleep, in your nightmares.'
'Oh Star! I don’t know any more!' Blue flopped into Star's arms and burst into tears. She was overwhelmed by the thoughts in her head of Pierre not being the monster any more and her guilt of sleeping with a complete stranger in his absence.
'Blue sweetheart. We’re going to get you fixed up. I'll run you a bath. We’re going to get you all dolled up. Daen’s coming over later to take you out. He rang earlier. He wanted to apologise for running off when you were still asleep.'