Vampiric

Meeting of the Elders

Leah and Brian walking down the stairs, leading the elders to my tomb where we have the meeting table set up for them. There are twelve of us all together, with me being the highest ranking elder. We’ve got thousands and thousands of years between us, dating all the way back to the beginning of time. We are a band of the wisest, most ferocious and fearsome creatures on the planet. As the elders settle into their seats, I feel nervous. Are the elders involved in the betrayal of Asura? Are they all against me? Who is really my ally in this room if Asura isn’t even on my side? My leg bounces to try to shake away some of the jitters. My anxiety has skyrocketed, my level of mistrust at an all time high. The elders gracefully settle in their seats, each one of them stopping at me to shake my hand. They all say the same greeting to me: “Good evening elder Damien, Primus of the Association.” Each one finish their greeting with a bow. After the greetings, there is a slight awkwardness hanging in the air. None of us know how to start. I’m so tense, my words escape me. My mind is all over the place, I can’t even think straight knowing that Asura of all vampires would be the one to betray me. Elder Sasha, a thousand year old female counsel member bares the burden, breaking the silence, “Damien, we came as soon as we were summoned. There are rumors that your new prodigy, Lamia. Is it true she was abducted after the two of you were involved in a horrible car accident? We’ve all been worried sick for you, but that doesn’t quite explain why we are all here. Is everything alright? Is there something else we need to know, dear?” She sounds so sincere, she spoke to me like a worried mother. Sweetly but directly to the point, not lying to me to save face, not afraid to ask the questions everyone else is afraid to answer. My soul aches, not knowing who I can trust. These are the people that I’ve grown to know and love during my afterlife. The people who, before tonight, I would have trusted with my life. I take a deep breath to speak, but Asura interrupts me before I have the chance.. “Yes, the rumors of the abduction are true. Lamia was taken after the tragic car accident last night. However, that isn’t all. Damien is now being black mailed by rogues. They are demanding him to step down as Primus in exchange for the safe return of his prodigy, Lamia.” Asura hands Sasha the first note left of the front door. The elders are shocked, looking at each other in disbelief, whispering amongst each other. Elder Godric raises his eyebrows, he is going to speak next. Godric is the oldest vampire enrolled in the association. He is Asura’s maker, with the face of a seventeen year old teenager, equipped with the mind capable of holding the entire evolution of the world within it. His skin is pale from remaining hidden from the sun for so long, lips almost purple in color, subtle orange eyes, and beautiful, shiny blonde hair. But his looks are deceiving. Godric is over two thousand five hundred years old, but no one can know for sure his exact age. He was present during the Egyptian era, before the pyramids were even built. During his travels over the centuries of walking the earth, anything could be possible. He even claims he made love to Cleopatra, but I don’t know if I should believe him or not! Godric clears his throat, before wisely speaking “With your leadership so newly obtained, this must be a tragic loss for you, Damien. The successful turning of Lamia is what guaranteed your position as Primus in the first place. Rogues have never shown such a strong interest in rules or structure, let alone ruling the entire Association. Why are they all of the sudden so determined? Leaving the position vacant is dangerous to all of our members, the same Vampires we’ve vowed to keep safe. As for your plans of resigning, that is not an option. You’ve worked far too hard for anyone to rip it away from you. I’ve watched you grow from a newly turned savage to the powerful Vampire that you are today. No one deserves this position more than you. And as far as the abduction, forgetting about Lamia is also not an option. We need to devise a plan to get Lamia back for you, without you stepping down, but convincing the rogues into thinking you did to draw them out. Where is Arius? The army of darkness should already be here. Have they found the location of the rogues yet?” His strong determination touches my soul, making me feel as if I can truly trust him. After he spoke, I’m almost positive he has nothing to do with this. Asura looks slightly uneasy, as if he is trying to swallow his shame, hiding his dirty f*****g secret from Godric. “It’s safe to assume Arius has been recruited to start a search party for Lamia and the rogues, am I correct, Asura?” Godric looks eyes with Asura, putting him on the spot. His expression hard, probing, his eyelids relaxed over his eyes, almost scowling and showing he is not in the mood for any bullshit that may come out of Asura’s mouth. “No, father. I intended on alerting Arius of the situation after our meeting concluded. We needed to bring our plan of action to the council’s attention before we planned for war.” Asura was lying to me! He told me he alerted the Army of Darkness already! More f*****g deceit! This proves everything, not like I had any doubts. My poor, non-functional heart is being stomped on, my already hurting, fragile soul being tortured. “Asura, I’m surprised at you. You know with every passing minute Lamia could be in more and more danger. Who knows what those rogues are doing to her? You know very well what they are capable of! You will summon the army at this very moment and not a second later! Better yet, I will alert Arius myself, apparently I need to make sure things are done right myself. Your carelessness will be discussed later. Damien, please join me in the kitchen. I requested a meal when the elders and I arrived, your lovely servants were very pleasant and eager to oblige. I’d enjoy some company to discuss more of the pressing issue at hand while I have my meal. Nu, please keep any eye on the rest of the counsel in our absence. Elders, please take this time to come up with any ideas that would possibly assist us before action is taken. We will regroup when Damien and I return.” Godric and I excuse ourselves from the elders. Anubis, Nu for short, is Godric’s most recent prodigy, was left in charge. Godric feels something, he knows there is something wrong. Leah and Brian are gorging the meal caught for Godric at his request. “Thank you both for such a wonderful  looking meal! The smells are absolutely wonderful! I wish I had such great cooking like this at home!” Godric speaks so lovingly. He’s so kind and true, the way I used to see Asura before he turned into a snake. Godric takes care to gently feed on his meal, slowly drinking, pacing himself and savoring every bit he can. He moves so gracefully, like every single thing he does has a purpose. He seems so transparent, like he’s too old to care for bullshit, so he doesn’t tolerate any. The meal is finally reduced to a puddle, lifting a napkin to his lips to wipe away the excesses blood. “Damien, did you know if you train yourself hard enough, as an elder Vampire, you can eventually read human minds?” This is news to me, Asura certainly never mentioned anything about it. If I had known, I would have been training to do that myself! “I brought you up here to join me because I knew there was something wrong from the moment your Leah and I spoke earlier. I’d like you to know, she is an ally to you, Damien. Fiercely loyal, which is a hard quality to find in most humans. Which as you now know, some vampires lack.” My eyes feel like they are filling up with blood, I want to just cry, scream, attack everything, rip Asura’s head the f**k off for hurting me! For hurting Mia! Godric pulls me out of my mental spiral, “Asura has betrayed you, which you already knew. However, I must say, you are doing quite a fantastic job keeping your composure in his presence. I commend you for your efforts. However, this is something far more serious than just the position of Primus. Asura is fraternizing with rogues. Conspiring with the enemy, betraying his own prodigy whom he calls son. His act of treason will not be overlooked. However, we need to play along as you’ve been. I’ve alerted the other elders about this serious situation, they are all aware of what is to be done. Asura will expose himself in time and we will all be on your side. I’m alerting Arius now to start the hunt for Lamia. They are going to set up a parameter around the property shortly. When we go back downstairs, we will announce your resignation and we all will play along as normal. We need to find the rogues and eradicate them, then take necessary action against Asura. I will put the word out of the resignation myself. It will spread quickly, so be prepared. The fight may show up on our front door, here. As long as we maintain our acts, Lamia will be back with you tonight.” The thought of her in my arms drives me, my muse, the new reason for my being, my life partner, the vampress I’ve entrusted my delicate soul with. I’m so relieved I have an ally in Godric. I watch him as he recruits Arius, the army and spreads the news of me stepping down as head vampire. He makes sure to do this in front of me to alleviate any doubts I may have, understanding the tremendous betrayal I’m feeling. Once everything is in place as it should be, Godric and I stand, he’s looking at me in the eyes, studying me. I stare back, allowing him, proving that I myself, have nothing to hide. “We will get through this together, Damien. I trust you as you trust me and you will maintain your position as Primus when this is all over. Let’s go, my child, we’ve got a lot of work to do tonight and we haven’t much time to do it.” I draw an empty deep breath, trying to release some built up tension. I feel like I’m heading into the boxing ring with the heavy weight champion and I’m a light weight loser. I maintain my composure and head down to the tomb to meet the waiting elders, Anubis and Asura. I refuse to group him in with the elders anymore. Asura watches Godric and I carefully as we make our way down, I feel the panic in him, which makes me panic even more than he is. Once he sees the reaction I have to him written all over my face, unable to hide it. Asura quickly calms himself to relieve me, jumbling to maintain his secrecy. We rejoin the elders and Asura, I allow Godric to lead the conversation, “Damien and I talked it over. Together, we’ve come to the conclusion that stepping down from the head vampire position is the best plan of action in order to ensure the safe return of Lamia. We will alert the army after we’ve sent out the word of Damien’s resignation. We need to get Lamia back before the battle starts.” All of the elders are so convincing, agreeing with Godric. Asura especially agrees with the plan. He thinks it’s all falling into place for him. Godric draws up a sanction for me to step down. All of the elders must witness and sign the sanction in order for it to be valid among the association and convincing to the rogues. After writing up the document, Godric signs first, Asura next, it’s passed down the line of elders until reaching me. I look down at the paper, reading the words : “I, Damien Mastema, officially resign from my position and duties as Primus of the Vampire Association. I acknowledge this leaves the position vacant, thus opening up for the opportunity of another qualified suitor to accept the position in my absence. I acknowledge this decision cannot he recanted. By signing over my rights to the position, I acknowledge that I was in no way forced into my decision and agree that the decision is that of my own wishes. Once I have revoked my position, I accept and understand that I will still maintain a chair on the counsel of Elders, but will not be eligible to be elected for Primus again.” Even if the resignation isn’t real, this is still one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. I reluctantly sign with the pen the entire board used to sign the resignation document. “And so it is complete, I will put the word out to the association. The news will reach the rogues through word of mouth and we’ll be able to move forward with the safe return of Lamia Valiant. I must excuse myself to alert the association. During this time, please enjoy the meals prepared for you by Damien’s trusted servants. From experience, I assure the meals are delicious. I shall return once I’ve completed alerting all of the members and summoning the Army of Darkness to our aid. Damien, please join me, you can assist with contacting all of the members.” Asura looks uneasy again, obviously because he needs to alert the rogues of me officially stepping down, but doing so secretly. Godric and I take our leave to go alert the members of the association of the decision. We must contact them, just in case there is another trader amongst us. It takes a while, lots of phone calls, text messages and talking but we finally get through all of the members with the assistance of Leah, Brian and Nija. Anubis stayed in the tomb to keep an eye on Asura, otherwise he’d be helping, too. Now we wait. We’re waiting for Asura to complete his part in being a snake, waiting for the rogues to act. The Army of darkness has taken their positions outside, laying in wait as well for a possible attack. With everything going on, all I can focus on is getting my Mia back. I miss her so much, my soul aching for her safe return. They better be taking good f*****g care of her, if she returns hurt, they’ll really have something to worry about. I stop my inner thoughts before I get even angrier than I already am. I have to be patient and maintain my poise. Sitting here patient, just waiting...