Luna's Ascension

Chapter 3: How to Train a Monster

I awoke to the smell of Kelly in my room. 

“What are you doing here.” I mumbled as I pulled my bedside curtain open. 

“Master Wright said you needed to eat.” She said sitting down beside me on the bed. I groaned. 

“Of course he did. Is it even safe with your condition?” I asked, eyeing her growing womb. 

“If you would prefer, I could get Kenneth or Jesper to come feed you.” She blushed slightly at that. 

“What about the generous donations from the Red Cross?” I asked hopefully as I remembered that she had mentioned it last night. 

“Master Wright said you have to get used to feeding this way, and that you would need the strength of fresh blood.” Kelly answered.

“Fine, you can send for Jesper or Candy.” I gave in.

Candy found her way to my room quickly, she took a seat at the edge of my bed before offering her arm to me. Sighing I took it and sunk my fangs into her. She didn’t even flinch, just gently pet my hair as I drank from her. When I stopped she already had a bandage ready and began wrapping her arm. 

“Here at least let me help.” I said taking the bandages away from her and finishing the wrapping before pulling down her sleeve. With a curtsey Candy exited my room leaving me alone with Kelley. “Alright. I ate. Now what?” I asked Kelly. 

“Here, I brought you some athletic clothes for training.” She said handing me a pair of running shorts, a sports bra, and a loose t-shirt made of moisture wicking fabric. “You are to change into this and I will then take you to the training rooms.” 

“Alright.” I said taking the clothes and going to change in my closet. “Does Leo feed off of you stil?” I asked her as I laced up my sneakers.

“No this is the first time master has been home since we learned of my pregnancy.” She answered, “Why are you so worried about it?” 

“Because it could be dangerous for you and your baby.” I answered as I exited my closet. “As my servant I get to command you right?” She nodded. “Good. You are not to donate blood to Leo or I until two months after your baby is delivered.” 

“Yes, mistress.” Kelly bowed her head, “May I show you to the training rooms now?” I nodded my approval and followed her. I didn’t take the appropriate time to appreciate the mansion last night upon my arrival. The flooring, and grand staircase were made of marble with oak banisters, the chandelier was crystal with imitation candles casting a flickering glow. The veining of the marble glimmered with red hues like blood. The halls were long with doors on either side, and for the I was happy I had the rest of eternity to spend time getting acquainted with the rooms and secrets these halls had to hide. Kelly led me down the staircase and through the parlour with ornate rugs and plush leather chairs. Bookcases, coffee tables, and fire burning in the fireplace gave off a comfortable, worn in, homey vibe. The smell of citrus furniture polish mixed with the applewood burning in the fireplace was intoxicating. Kelly only tread on not giving the room a second glance as we cut through the kitchen where the black cabinets accentuated the marble countertops that matched the floors. The space was so large there was a butler’s pantry with counter space and outlets to run all the appliances that were evenly spaced out. Above the counters sat the spice shelves and below was storage for pots and pans. The cabinets in the main part of the kitchen were filled with food and ceramic dishes. We continued on at Kelly’s quick pace, and I selfishly couldn’t wait for her to be far enough along in her pregnancy that she waddled like a penguin so I could take my time admiring the beauty of the place. The rec room was filled with board games, a gaming table, a projector screen for the TV and every gaming system ever made. Along the wall with the projector screen was glass cabinets with shelves upon shelves of gaming systems broken up by the big three xbox, playstation, and nintendo. I couldn’t stop myself as I stumbled in awe at the history in front of me, before I turned and noticed the wall completely covered in oak shelving that housed thousands of video games separated by their gaming consoles. “You will have plenty of time to play them after your training Mistress.” Kelly interrupted my ogling with a gentle reminder and I once again followed her down the hall thinking about all the games and wondering how many of the consoles were still in working order. 

At the end of the hall was a door that Kelly opened and I followed her dutifully into the basement where I was met with an indoor olympic sized pool, the room also had a sauna and hot tub. The heat of the room was intense but my porcelain skin did not break a sweat. Through the glass door ahead I could see basic gym equipment, but continued following Kelly as she led the way through the gym. This next door was wooden and Kelly opened it shooing me inside, but not coming in herself. Instead she closed the door behind me and I heard her footsteps retreat. Turning I came face to face with Leo in just basketball shorts. Seeing him dressed so casually was still a shock compared to his dress clothes he had worn to class every day, but not nearly as shocking as seeing him working out. He was doing push ups, but I never imagined such a fit physique was hiding under all his layers. He jumped up landing on his feet like a cat and I had the chance to take in the rest of the room. It appeared to be an obstacle course with large logs jutting up from a pit in the floor, stairs led down the pit but it was deep enough I couldn’t see the bottom. Leo dumped a lantern down the sill of the stairs and lit the oil with a match. 

“How about warming up with some stair runs?” He asked. Sighing I started jogging down the stairs, I lost count around 170. Then I ran back up the stairs. Leo stood at the top with a timer frowning, “Faster.” He commanded so down I went again and back up, “You can do better than that. Use your power. Feel the full potential of your muscles. Release your mortal limits that held you back.” I took a deep breath counting to three and released it. I tried that a couple more times repeating to myself I am strong. I am immortal. I am fast. I am strong. I am immortal. I am fast. Finally, I felt my muscles relax and I went down the stairs, managed to turn on my heel and come back up. “Perfect. 100 more times and we will move on.” Leo smiled. Frustrated, I did just that. I used the frustration and anger to push me to run faster, and faster until Leo was satisfied. 

He walked down the stairs indicating I should follow. My muscles protested as I resumed a normal human pace, Leo walked to the center post and pointed at the tree stand spikes. “Now climb.” He said. I did and by the time I reached the top he was standing on the log next to me. I didn’t have time to react as he shoved me off. I turned my body quickly in the air landing on my feet. “Climb.” He ordered again. Growling I did as commanded this time when he went to shove me. I was ready and dodged, only to be swept off balance by a low kick and sent hurtling back down towards the bottom of the pit. Once again I forced my body to react quickly. This time I was able to grab onto a tree stand stake on my way down and climb back up. I dodged the push, jumped the kick, and was hit square in the nose. I screamed in frustration, regaining my balance. Leo jumped from one post to the next taunting me to catch him, to fight him. So I began the chase. The predator in me bayed in excitement as I hunted my prey. Leo was fast, and he had the advantage of training on this course frequently. My footing was firm as I jumped from post to post. One time I jumped down making it look like I accidentally missed as I used the tree stand stakes to sneak behind Leo and catch him off guard. He was leaned over the edge of the post trying to find where I landed as I delivered a swift kick to his keister sending him flailing over the edge. He quickly caught a stake and swung himself back up. Now it was my turn to run away. I jumped quickly from post to post until I managed to cross the pit and landed safely on the other side. 

“Good job.” Leo said, landing like a cat next to me. “Tomorrow I won’t go easy on you.” 

“I only managed to get one hit in.” I protested. 

“Yes, but your adaptability and inherent skill show you are a fast learner, and we only have two years to get you ready.” 

“If your plan works it will be a sneak attack anyways, so Ivan won’t even have time to defend himself.” I complained. 

“Ivan is still centuries older than you. Over that time he has only grown stronger and faster, I only have two years to build your skill up so you might stand a chance to kill him before he has time to react out of instinct. Plus, you still need to be fast and strong enough to start work.” 

“Vampires work?” I asked. 

“Of course we work. Some have regular jobs on top of our main task which is reaping souls for hell.” 

“I’m sorry, you what now?” I asked. 

“The lore states original vampires were created by making a deal with the devil, in exchange for immortality, strength, speed, and power they would harvest the souls of sinners for Lucifer. In order to gain their immortality and protect their souls from being reaped vampires were tasked with reaping the souls of sinners to send in their place. One soul per month for the rest of eternity.” 

“I thought the trade off would be having to consume blood, and avoid the sun for the rest of eternity.” I grumbled, “One would think that is a high enough price.” 

“Well the blood isn’t actually that bad, once you get used to it. And a long time ago vampires allied with witches to enchant possessions of theirs so they can go out in the sunlight.” Leo explained with a shrug. 

“How the hell do we even find sinners?” I asked completely dumbfounded. 

“For you it will be super easy since the veil of death is already thin for you. Mist said you can see ghosts, correct?” 

“I don’t know. I have only seen three consistently throughout my life, and they were people I was close to while they were alive. Very rarely have I seen another ghost.” 

“That’s because your loved ones have been protecting you and running off the other ghosts. Some ghosts can cling to the living especially if they know you can see them. They won’t leave you alone and will become possessive of you, eventually trying to possess your body for themselves. Very dangerous work for clairvoyant mortals. Vampires however have no fear as we can’t be possessed. Your ancestors did well to protect you. But, if you were to try. You know what, do what I say.” I nodded my consent. “Focus all your attention on me. Observe my hair color, eye color, skin pallor, and search for the essence of my being.” I did as he said, relaxing. I observed his height, his broad shoulders, narrow waist, his eyes were a dull blue, his hair sandy colored, and as I thought about him as a person it was almost like he shimmered. I focused more on his essence, what made Leo the person I know? His patience, abruptness, encouraging words, he shimmered again and it was almost like a thin sheet of mist coated him. I stared in wonder at the silver fog. 

“What color do you see?” He asked. 

“Silver.” I answered honestly, “What is it?” I asked in awe. 

“It’s my aura. The color of a person’s aura represents their soul's purity. Silver represents the untouchables-meaning once their reaped their soul goes to the in-between, gold is purity-meaning they are a good person who will go to heaven, and black is a sinner who will go to hell. You can only reap a soul with a black aura. Otherwise it doesn’t count.” 

“What happens if the quota is unmet?” I asked. 

“Then your aura will turn black, and you will be reaped to pay the price.” Leo said, at least that’s how the legend goes anyways. 

“You mean you don’t know for sure?” I asked, “Why would you do something like that without knowing one-hundred percent what the consequences are?” 

“A lot of vampires find loopholes, reaping the souls of sinners after they are already dying due to a car accident or something along those lines, but no one messes with the monthly quota tradition. Vlad was the last vampire turned by the devil himself according to legend.” 

“Then how did Ivan become a vampire?” I asked. 

“He was in Romania and got bit by a bat supposedly.” Leo said with a shrug. “Mist suspects the bat was one of Vlad’s pets that he feeds his blood to in order to use his compulsion on them more effectively, and that his blood mixed with the bats venom to turn Ivan. But that’s all speculation. Mist has met both and states she most resembles the American vampires. Apparently European vampires have red eyes and chalky pale skin, and resemble albinos. Whereas American vampires as you can see have milky white skin that still looks natural, and our eye color stays the same unless we are hungry then they turn black. Mist says the bat story makes sense as her Lynx DNA and the bat DNA could have diluted the vampire toxin, letting us keep our more human characteristics. But like I said they are ancient vampires, and compared to them I am relatively young while you’re an infant. So the legends could be false or at least grotesquely distorted, but we still meet our quotas. And in the end is it really that bad having to kill one evil person a month?” 

“It’s still murder, and yes murder is still wrong Leo.” I crossed my arms, the motion broke the concentration I had and his aura shifted back out of view. I hopped quickly across the posts in the pit and slammed the door behind me as I left the room. I continued walking even as I heard him opening the door to follow me. I went through the gym, and the sauna/pool room up the stairs and weaved through the rooms of the house. Not even pausing to stare at the video game collection. I thought I had made myself perfectly clear that I would not hurt innocent people. And then it hit me, the sinners aren’t innocent. I stopped in my tracks and Leo ran into my back nearly toppling me over. I looked around realizing I was in the comfortable study with the plush overstuffed leather chairs, the fire was still going and even though none of the servants were in the room, I knew they must be circling back to keep it roaring. I sat on an ornate rug, with how old Leo was I realized it was probably an ancient, authentic, persian rug. I stared emptily into the flames. I could feel Leo hovering but I didn’t care. Sinners aren’t innocent. I kept repeating in my head, as my fingers started to play with the tassels on the rug. Sinners aren’t innocent. Murder is still wrong I thought. Kill a killer and there are still just as many killers in the world. Not if you kill more than one. A traitorous voice thought in my head. It wasn’t Leo’s, he had settled into one of the chairs as he continued watching my melt down. No, that voice was me. Some dark, twisted part of me. Telling me I could make the world a better place killing one sinner at a time. I shook my head trying to shove that part of me back where she came from. 

“Still processing?” Leo said, looking over the pages of a book at me. I didn’t even hear him grab it. 

“It’s called an existential crisis.” I retorted, throwing myself on my back to stare at the ornate ceiling. I traced the swirling molding with my eyes as I continued my reflection. As a human I was kind, stood up for others, a bit eccentric but oh well. I did my best to be a good person, and look where that got me. The darkness purred. I groaned trying to ignore it. Now I had a new life, I had hoped to continue doing the right thing and being a good person, but was that possible? I am a vampire, I need blood to survive. If the one sinner a month is true, it could be my way out. I mused it over in my mind. But Leo would find a loophole, he would find a sinner on the brink of death every month to have me reap, convincing me I was doing a mercy kill while also meeting my quota. Hell, I could almost justify doing that on my own without his influence. Except I would know by the black aura where I was sending them which would no longer make it a mercy. I scrubbed at my eyelids, groaning as I sat up. “Why is this so hard?” I demanded.

“Because your aura is still gold.” Leo answered not deigning to look up from his book and make eye contact with me, “It’s flickered to silver a couple times, but it’s still as gold as a sunrise right now.” He finally slowly raised his eyes to mine, closing his book.

“You are fighting very hard to remain true to your human nature, which while admirable is a waste of time. You are no longer human, eventually your connections to that life will fade as will your aura, to silver like the rest of us. It’s just up to you when you want to stop pretending.” He said, standing and returning his book to the shelf. “I can not make this decision for you, but you will find me when you’re ready and we will continue your training.” He said with a certain note of finality before leaving the room. “Candy, meet me in my chambers.” His voice echoed through the empty house. I curled up in the chair he had vacated and watched the flames slowly die down as I pondered his words. 

I’m not human anymore. He didn’t say it, but I am a monster now. The darkness wasn’t planted by the vampire toxins, it was always there inside of me kept under lock and key, as I assumed it was in everyone. But as a monster I could finally let her out, I could no longer be a people pleaser, I could take what I want. But what did I want? I heard the soft footsteps of Kelly as she entered to tend the fire. She silently added three more logs, giving it a good poking to encourage the embers to start consuming the new logs, before making her exit. I watched the coals as they climbed the fresh logs remembering the feeling of Mist’s fangs on my neck and the taste of her blood on my tongue as she dropped it from her finger. The feeling of fire had snaked through my veins as the toxin took over my body as the fire from the coals now consumed the logs of the fire. I watched as the logs held firm, before darkening, and starting to fall apart becoming nothing more than the next set of embers to engulf the next sacrifices. Like she was on a timer Kelly entered the room again, put the new logs on, stoked the fire, and left. I spent over a day in that chair staring at the process every five hours. New logs go on, fire stoked, embers consume the new logs, logs become the new embers. Rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat. 

“Is she still alive?” I heard one of the servants whisper. 

“Yes.” Leo answered.

“Will she be okay?” another servant asked, it sounded like Kelly but I couldn’t tear my eyes from the phoenix fire. 

“Eventually.” Leo answered, and I heard their footsteps echo against the marble as they left. They didn’t understand. I was the log being consumed, and then forced to consume. Over and over. For all of eternity I would live in this hellish loop, there was no escaping this. There was no escaping this. And with that thought the darkness inside me broke free. I accepted my fate as a monster, and went to find my master. 

Leo was in his study going over some paperwork. “What are you doing?” I asked him. 

“My taxes.” He answered, not looking up. “Have you found your answer?” He asked. 

“Yes.” I answered. 

“I’m guessing since you’re here you’re ready to continue your training?” He finally looked up at me.

“Yes.” I repeated.

“Good. Go find one of the boys and have a snack. I’ll be down in a bit.” He shooed me out with a dismissive wave of his hand, and I left his office. Taxes my ass, I thought as I moved down the stairs. The papers he had scattered about his desk were files with names on them, either other vampires or humans, one of the files had been open. Leo didn’t seem to care as I glanced at the picture of the curvy woman with golden skin, blue eyes, and long black hair. Something about her seemed to draw me in, but I wouldn’t push Leo on that topic for a while. I still had to get back in his good graces. So instead I followed his command and called for Jesper. Since Kelly was no longer available for feeding, Kenneth pulled double duty between Leo and I. Leo used Candy primarily, and I tried using Jesper as often as I could, but Kenneth normally donated at least twice a day. Jesper appeared in front of me. Sometimes with their stealth I forgot the staff were even human. His hair was a light blonde, almost white and his green eyes made him look otherworldly. 

“You called my lady?” He asked, helping me down the final step. 

“It would appear I was quite distracted over the past day, and have skipped a couple meals.” I explained. Knowing full well he was at the doorway this morning, and had to have been there to stoke the fire at least a handful of times. 

“Very well ma’am.” He said leading me to the parlour, he encouraged me to take a seat as he undid the buttons on his right sleeve rolling it up to reveal the beautiful blue veining in his right forearm. His arm was already pocked with scars from our bites like a h****n user. I gently took his arm and bit into it. He let out a soft moan as my venom released endorphins in his body. Compulsion also has similar effects, but biting a human was always the most effective in getting them to remain calm, as our bite was designed to make our prey more vulnerable. He used his left arm to brace himself on the back of the chair and I could hear his fingers scrape against the leather as he dug his fingers into the chair trying to maintain control. I stopped drinking and licked the last two drops that pooled in the bite. He cleared his throat as he pulled out the bandages which I took from him and used to wrap his wrist. “You know ma’am, if you ever require company, I can assist with more than just feeding you.” His green eyes were glazed as he smiled softly at me. 

“That will be enough.” Leo said from the doorway, “Jesper, you know protocol after being fed off of you need to eat and drink some orange juice and water.” 

“Yes sir.” Jensen said, slipping off into the kitchen. He did not glance in Leo’s direction so only I witnessed the light blush bloom on his cheeks. 

“As for what he said about the company, once I am sure you are safe to be around people, I will let you go visit Matt.” Leo said from the doorway. 

“I don’t know if that is wise.” I said, sadly. 

“If you decide to turn him, I would understand.” Leo said as he leaned against the door jam. 

“I don’t think he would want this life, plus Mist put me in charge of keeping the final person in her bloodline safe. I don’t think she would be very happy if I changed him. Plus, he deserves to move on, find a nice girl, and settle down, continue the Silver Lynx’s bloodline.” As the words left my mouth my gut twisted and I felt the copper tang of Jesper’s blood crawl back up my throat with acidic bile. I forced it back down. “Anyways, you said we would continue with my training.” 

“Yes. Follow me.” Leo said heading back up the stairs towards his office. He pulled a book down so it lay on its spine on the shelf, the shelf opened revealing a hidden passage with a wrought iron spiral staircase. Leo smiled as I stared in awe, “The book case is lined with books that use wolfsbane as a bookmark to keep the shifters out, and the iron keeps the fae away.” he explained as we ascended the stairs. “As reapers our first duty is to protect the sacred scythes of death. Like the ones farmers used on wheat, these scythes are our tool to sever the soul from the body.” Leo said as we entered a room at the top of the stairs. One wall was a walk-in closet full of heavy black, wool cloaks lined with different color silks. The other three walls were lined with beautiful weapons. Each scythe was unique but I was drawn to the most elegantly, simple, blade in the room. The handle was made of a dark rosewood, the scythe blade was a beautiful crescent made of two different tones of metal, the outer portion of the curved blade was dark, folding that darkness into the lighter metal at the bottom perfecting the damascus in the cutting portion of the blade. The blade went through the handle with another smaller crescent blade formed on the back of the handle. I took it off it’s hooks and felt the perfect balance of the blades as I spun around the room, brandishing the weapon. “Good choice.” Leo smiled at me. I looked up as if I was in a daze, “I know. It just called to you.” Leo said and I nodded, not knowing what else I could say. 

“This is mine.” He said, pulling down another one from the wall across from mine. His scythe had multiple smaller blades shaped like fangs jutting out from the bottom of the main blade. The handle was made of ebony that shined as if it were polished every day. I looked at the other scythe that was on the same wall as mine, then at the one that had sat next to Leo’s and finally at the last two in the room that were on the far wall across from the cloaks. 

“If you only use that one, why do you have all these extras?” I asked, motioning around the room. 

“Because, our coven has four more members to acquire.” Leo said with a smile.