The Vampire Flame

CHAPTER THREE

“What is the Vampire Flame?” I said, looking at Lucius in confusion. “And how will it take away my magic if Blake gets it?”

But Lucius did not seem me to hear me, because he was now pacing back and forth across the pavement, his arms folded behind his back as he muttered incessantly under his breath.

“Hello?” I said. “Earth to Lucius? Can you hear me?”

“I hear you just fine, Tara,” said Lucius, glancing up at me briefly before returning his gaze to the pavement upon which he paced. “It’s just that I’m ignoring you for now to think about what you just told me. It confirms a theory I’ve had, but at the same time, the implications are staggering and I still haven’t fully grasped what Blake is trying to do.”

At least Lucius was honest about ignoring me, which was more than I could say for other men I’d dated before. And, honestly, Lucius was probably the only guy who I didn’t mind being ignored by, despite being as attracted to him as I was. He was just that handsome.

“Well, I’m trying to understand the implications, too,” I said. “Only it’s harder for me because you haven’t explained jack to me yet.”

Lucius stopped and looked at me. “I have a theory, but we need help. I need information and I know exactly where to get it: Richard.”

“You mean my dad?” I said. “Why?”

“Because Richard is one of the very few sorcerers to have ever seen the Vampire Flame,” said Lucius. “More than anyone, he may know where it is and how we can get to it. We might even be able to track down Blake and, by extension, your friend Jane as well. Is Richard home?”

“I think so,” I said, glancing at my watch. “It’s after lunch, so his church has probably let out. I imagine he’s at home taking his afternoon nap, which he usually does after church ends.”

“Excellent,” said Lucius. “You and I should go directly to the parsonage and speak with Richard. We should do it quickly, because Blake is likely moving forward with his plan and isn’t going to wait for us to catch up.”

“But you still haven’t explained to me what the Vampire Flame is,” I said. “What is it and why is it so important that we have to ask Dad about it?”

Lucius sighed, clearly wishing that we could just get a move on, but then he said, “I keep forgetting how little you know of our world, but very well. The Vampire Flame is an ancient, eternal fire that has been burning since the beginning of time. It has never gone out, even once, since the day it was first lit so many ages ago, and with luck, it never will.”

“So the Vampire Flame is just a really old fire, then,” I said. “I don’t see what’s so special about that.”

Lucius sighed again, this time with more obvious exasperation. “It’s more than that, Tara. It’s the source of the magical powers of vampires and sorcerers alike.”

“It is?” I said. “How come I’ve never heard of it, then, if it’s so important?”

“Because it’s been missing for centuries,” said Lucius. “There’s also the fact, of course, that you’ve been separated from the magical community for your whole life, so it makes sense you wouldn’t know what it is.”

I folded my arms in front of my chest. “Hold on a minute. How can the Vampire Flame be the source of magic? Didn’t the Darkness and the Origin give humanity our magical powers?”

“Yes,” said Lucius. “But the Darkness and the Origin don’t support our powers in the same way the Vampire Flame does. That’s why the Vampire Flame is also called the Sorcerer’s Fire, because it supports the powers of both species at once.”

“Where did it come from?” I said. “Who created it?”

“No one knows for sure,” said Lucius. “Some think that the first sorcerer and the first vampire created it, while others believe that the Darkness and the Origin created it together. Either way, it exists and it is deeply tied to our powers. Should the Flame ever go out, both sorcerers and vampires would cease to exist.”

“Cease to exist?” I said. “Do you mean they’d all die?”

“Not exactly,” said Lucius. He put a hand on his chest. “Us vampires probably would, because without the Darkness flowing through us, we are basically just reanimated corpses. As for sorcerers, they’d just lose their powers and become ordinary humans. In that sense, they would cease to exist as sorcerers, though continue to exist as humans.”

“What would happen to half-vampires like me?” I said. “Would I die or just lose my powers or …?”

I didn’t want to say it aloud, but I wondered if the Vampire Flame could potentially reverse my half-vampire transformation. Ever since I became a half-vampire three months ago, I hoped of a way to reverse my transformation and go back to being an ordinary girl who didn’t have to worry about the fate of her eternal soul all the time. I had reluctantly accepted that I would be a half-vampire for the rest of my life, but if Lucius was correct about the Vampire Flame and its abilities, then maybe there was hope for me after all.

Lucius scratched the scar on his face. “I don’t know. And I don’t want to find out. That’s why we need to find Blake, and fast.”

“Right,” I said. “But if Blake is trying to get the Vampire Flame, then why did he kidnap my friend Jane? It doesn’t make sense.”

“There’s still a lot we don’t know about Blake and his motives,” said Lucius. “If I had to guess, I would say he’s using her as a hostage, maybe to make sure you don’t go after him. If he has your friend’s life under his control, then you might be less willing to fight him and get in the way of his plans.”

I supposed Lucius was probably right, but at the same time, I didn’t find that explanation entirely convincing. There had to be something more to it than that. If he had been a vampire, I would have said that Blake had kidnapped Jane in order to drink her blood, but given how he was an ordinary human sorcerer, that meant he kidnapped her for an entirely different reason. And whatever that reason was, I doubted it was any good.

“All right,” I said. “I’ll help you find Blake. Where should we go first?”

“To your father, Richard,” said Lucius. “As I said, he’s the last person to have seen the Vampire Flame and may be able to tell us where it is, which may, in turn, help us find out where Blake is.”

“Cool,” I said. “Then let’s hurry. I want to save Jane and make sure that she’s safe and I can’t do that if we’re just standing around here like this.”

Lucius extended a hand toward me. “Then take my hand. We’ll take the Shadow Way. It’s the fastest way to get to your father’s house.”