Where are you, Christopher, I thought, wishing he was here.
Chapter 7
When Kenmei arrived, he took one look at me, and pulled me in Professor Pops' office.
"You've changed, Shiryo-san," he said as soon as the door closed behind him.
I gulped down my fear.
"Have I?"
"No sense playing coy, revenant." His voice sounded harsh, his eyes hard with anger. "If you intend to survive another month you've got to trust Adam Henry, the brothers, and me." He sat in the chair next to mine, and took my trembling hands. His eyes softened. "I can help, Shiryo-san. Talk to me."
I nodded, pushing back threatening tears. Warmth spread from his hands into my skin. With my new abilities I listened for his heartbeat.
He didn't have one, though I sensed his innate goodness.
"Start at the beginning."
And I did. Told him everything. The more I talked, the more relieved I became. I hadn't realized how much of a burden I carried, keeping all that happened, and there was a lot, a secret. As I spoke, Kenmei nodded occasionally, but kept quiet. He didn't ask questions, as though he didn't need to, and didn't add interjections. He listened.
When I finished I pulled the pendant from beneath my shirt.
"This is the pendant Christopher left me," I said, and added, "He told me not to take it off, as did Pava, the pixilette I saw in the library today."
He released my hand, and took the gem between his fingers. It flared red, the essence permeating his fingers so they glowed. From the light of the pendant I watched his eyes fill with admiration. So close I could smell the spicy scent of my bloodlust tea on him, and guessed he still carried it on his person, somewhere within his royal blue robe.
After several minutes, he dropped the pendant, and sat back. "I'll bet you believe you've lived a lifetime these past days," he said quietly.
I nodded too overcome with emotion to answer.
Even quieter, he added, "Let's see how you feel after you've lived a century, or two." A sad smile, almost more of an echo of a smile formed on his lips. "After seven thousand years I'm tired, Shiryo-san." His voice was filled with melancholy, his eyes glassed over, like he was far away, in another time.
I swallowed, unsure how to respond.
Clearing his throat, perked up. "Thank you for your honesty."
"You're welcome." My fingers fidgeted in my lap.
"Christopher is right. No harm will come to you while you wear the pendant. It gives the possessor strong magic. Perhaps there is more to your Hunter then I first believed. He seems to care for you, otherwise he wouldn't have parted with such great magic."
"Oh?" I said, sitting up. For some reason his words made me feel better. Christopher cared for me.
My inner voice snorted.
"There is only one of these in all the world, Shiryo-san. May I tell you a story?"
"Of course," I replied, knowing he would even if I didn't want to hear it, but I totally did.
"When the world began, vampires ruled the world."
I nodded. That piece of information I already knew. Professor Pops had shown them to me.
"Aw, so you've seen the pictures then, hear the story?"
I'd failed to mention the talk with Professor Pops. I'd forgotten. His words hadn't seemed accusatory. "Yes. Professor Pops told me they lived before humans. I've seen the pictures. He told me how the Vampire Queen was the fairest, and about the war."
"Excellent. Did he mention who the first vampire was?"
I racked my brain. "No, I don't think so."
The first vampire was a female by the name of Silindra. Before the rise of the one you know as the Vampire Queen, she was called Sharra, and she was Silindra's closest friend, but she was so much more. Sharra are Silindra's were twins. Sisters."
I gasped.
Kenmei nodded in understanding. "Yes, that is why her realm is called Sharra. Now she is known only as the Vampire Queen, though she allows a select few to call her by her real name." He waved his hand. "Before Sharra's rise, Silindra ruled the Earth. She did so with kindness, equality. Her nature was such that everyone loved her, revered her, and even worshipped her above all other creatures."
"Silindra." I'd said her name without meaning too. When I did the gem began to glow.
"When the Vampire Queen started to gain followers, a male vampire named Gabriel, doing the bidding of Sharra, captured Silindra, and took her deep within the earth, where he tortured her for many days." A darkness crossed Kenmei's face, rippling pain.
I almost reached out to comfort him, but resisted, caressing the gem within my fingers.
Kenmei continued, "On the tenth day, when Silindra hovered between life and death, Gabriel raised a dagger above his head, preparing to slay her. But before he could, Silindra lifted a hand, and said..." Kenmei's voice trailed off as though he'd been whisked away in the story, and couldn't bear it any longer.
"What did she say?" I asked, my voice hoarse with emotion.
"She said one word," he finally continued.
"Which was?"
"Wait." His voice broke, and I leaned closer, thinking I'd misunderstood.
"Wait?"
His dark eyes captured mine, and held me. "You see, Shiryo-san, even near death, the love she harbored for all other creatures was foremost on her mind."
At his words, my throat constricted with sadness. Such love, I couldn't understand it.
"Gabriel paused, and asked, 'What is it, Silindra?'
She begged him to allow her to place one of her tears in the golden gem around her neck, and after she died to give it to a pixilette named Ryden.
Gabriel's heart softened, and he agreed.
What he didn't realize was that the gem around her neck already contained five magical properties-the courageous soul of a dragon, the eternal sight of an elf, the healing horn of a unicorn, the strength of a troll, and the giving heart of a fairy.
Gabriel added her tear, stuffed the gem in his pocket, and killed Silindra. After he finished, he left Silindra's body in the Earth, found the pixilette Ryden, and gave her the necklace, thus fulfilling his end of the bargain.
"Within moments of the gem being in Ryden's possession, she used its magic to take the final component needed to seal the magic within the gem. The blood of the slaughterer.Gabriel's blood. With all seven magical components contained, the gem changed from golden to red."