Immortal Part 12

“Now is not the time,” Zhivvah told him under her breath.

            “Do you… suck blood?”

            “Unfortunately, that is one of the accurate aspects of our condition. But I assure you, no harm will come to you.”

            “Human blood?” I pressed.

            “You don’t need to worry about that. We have more pressing matters. If you want to save your friend we have much to do.”
            “You said you know where he is,” I said perking up.
            “I said I might have an idea,” Zhivvah corrected, “but again, there’s much to do. It will not be an easy journey, you understand this?”
            I swallowed hard. This morning Emryl had been awfully frightened. He was terrified of something. After reading the blog and after some of the things Emryl himself had told me I knew that what I was facing was all kinds of horrible monsters. I mean, okay, I’ve got to be honest here, I still didn’t believe it. Tavian and Zhivvah had just confessed to me that they were vampires. And as I sat in the chair staring at the two of them, I still had a hard time really believing that they were creatures that drank human blood and during the day slept in coffins. I understood that they believed it and that Zhivvah was asking me if I understood it but really, I had no idea. It was easy for me nod and say, “Sure, I understand.” But even as I said it I wondered.
            And if I had known at that moment what I would encounter I would have shrieked in horror and ran back to the church that Emryl had taken us to earlier that morning and I would have embraced the priest and begged him for a blessing from God to protect me from the terrifying evils that I didn’t even know really existed.
            Zhivvah allowed me to finish my tea. They both watched me as I drank it so I guzzled it down a lot faster than the warmth of it really permitted.  I burned my tongue and throat a little bit but it was unnerving having the two of them sitting there staring at me.
            “So how do we prepare?” I asked offering Zhivvah the empty cup. She took it from me and with a jerk of her head she said, “Come with me.”
            I hesitated. After all, she was a vampire. Was she going to lead me to her lair and suck me dry? Her son had kidnapped me no matter how noble his intentions, which I still wasn’t sure about. They could both be totally deluded. Of course, they would tell me they wouldn’t hurt me… right before they bit me to satisfy their morbid appetites.
            Zhivvah must have sensed it because she approached me again and reached out to take my hand. I was prepared this time for the chill of her skin, but the coldness still sent a shock up my spine.
            “I promise you, miss Gerken neither me or my son will hurt you. We only want to help you. Come.”
            Slowly I complied with her wishes and followed her. The kitchen was very neat and very white. It was a lot cleaner than my kitchen was and considering that they supposedly consumed nothing but blood, it was equipped with all of the best appliances. A shiny steel refrigerator and matching oven, a fancy toaster, coffee maker, can opener, microwave, blender and even a dishwasher. It all looked expensive, top of the line. I wondered why they bothered to have it at all. But I didn’t have time to dwell on that. Zhivvah opened a side door that I assumed led to the basement. We descended a long staircase and I was right, we ended up in a dark and dank basement. The whole place smelled strongly of earth. The walls were lined with shelves. Huge shelves and on each shelf were hundreds and hundreds of bottles filled with what looked like dirt.
            “Dirt?” I asked curiously.
            Tavian raised his eyebrow excitedly, “Dirt,” he confirmed.
            “Is it all from like Transylvania?” I asked. In Braham Stokers Dracula, one of the signs of a vampire was they have to sleep in a coffin containing dirt from their homeland. But that was a story, right?
            “No.”
            “What’s it for then?”
            “Well, I could tell you,” Tavian drawled easily, “but then I would have to kill you.”
            Zhivvah sent him a very dirty look, “Tavian.”
            “I’m just kidding!” he exclaimed, “You know that, right, Syd?”
            I frowned at him. I was still more than just a little nervous and wasn’t quite ready to joke about the situation yet.
            Tavian sighed grumpily and grabbed one of the jars, “Fine, I’m sorry.”
            “So how is dirt going to help us find Emryl?”
            “It is one of our greatest secrets,” Zhivvah whispered taking the jar of dirt from Tavian. She caressed the top affectionately and then studied me for a moment with her black, lightless eyes, “We will explain this later as well.” She placed the jar back on the shelf and then she went to the far end of the room and opened a door I hadn’t even noticed before.
            I glanced unsurely at Tavian but he simply walked pass me and joined his mother in whatever laid in the next room. I wondered if the room was the place where they kept their coffins and I wondered what they were going to do to me. But they hadn’t hurt me so far so I followed cautiously.
            The room was an actual little room. A bed that was neatly made sat in the corner. Next to it was a little night table with a little white lamp. On the wall opposite the bed was a beautiful mahogany dresser.
            “Does this look suitable for you?” Zhivvah asked.
            “What is this?” I asked beginning to back away.
            “Please don’t be alarmed. I need some advice. He is a very ancient vampire and while he is somewhat friendly to us… I’m afraid you will not be safe in his presence. You’ll be safe here.”
            “You’re leaving me here alone?” I cried, a panic taking over. My chest grew tight and I was starting to heave. It was getting difficult to breathe. I was embarrassed, but I felt like I was on the verge of tears again.
            “Just for a short while,” Zhivvah assured me kindly. “And I promise you that our domain is well protected. Nobody and nothing will be able to reach you here. I know you’ve been through a great ordeal but I’m asking you to trust us. I will be truthful. We will be locking the door. There’s food, a restroom and you will have access to some books.”
            “The internet and cable can be traced and tracked,” Tavian interjected. “We don’t have them. We lay pretty low.”
            “I’m scared,” I squeaked.
            “You should be,” Tavian said.
            I waited for Zhivvah to chastise him, to tell him that he shouldn’t say things like that, or I waited for him to laugh and once again tell me he was sorry for joking around with me, but something about his expression told me he was sincere. Zhivvah looked sympathetic and told me that it would be alright.
            “How long will you be gone?”
            “Hopefully not long.”
            “You both have to go?”
            “Yes,” Zhivvah said regretfully. “His name is Septimus and he is over 4000 years old. And like most old men, he has grown quite… cranky.”
            “Yeah, but unlike grumpy old human men that just grumble a lot and have the inability to really bite, Septimus was turned when he was 17. He’s strong, he’s fast, he’s powerful and smart and if he gets mad he rips your head off, literally. We always go see him together. It’s safer.”
            “And you think he’ll be able to tell you where Emryl is and how to save him?” I stated.
            Zhivvah replied simply, “Yes, dear.”
            I stepped back into the room and planted myself stiffly on to the bed. I dreaded being here alone and the thought of being locked into the room was even worse but what could I do?  Tavian had proved he was a lot faster than me. If he wanted to, he could just throw me in here and walk away. I might as well stay on my own terms.  What was the point of fighting it?
            Zhivvah offered me one more comforting smile and then they both left. I heard the door click shut behind Tavian and that’s when I really started to cry.