Born or Made

Chapter 5: Spirits

Elder Veranda approached Capry cautiously. She watched as the dead gray color slowly drained out of the girl, forming a strange murky puddle underneath her that appeared to be slinking back into the crevices of the corpses being crushed underneath the Great Creator. As the gray departed, she could see visible angry red handprints on Capry’s arms and face. It was as though a thousand beings had clamped onto the girl and gripped her tightly. Even more curious, the handprints had strange patterns in them that almost looked intricately tribal in the way they swirled against her pale skin. There was still a noticeable chill emanating from the statue that remained eerily unchanged in the hallway.

“You need to call a meeting, my Grand Sorceress,” Veranda said quietly. “So we may discuss this in depth.”

Veranda knelt next to Capry and ran her hands over her entire body. She could hear the girl’s heart beating faintly in her chest. She was quite certain the girl had narrowly escaped with her life.

“Your fledgling needs to be taken to the infirmary,” Veranda said. “Whatever latched on to her has fed from her. She needs a host.” Veranda was now examining her body. She turned her arms over and peered at her neck. She lifted Capry’s shirt to reveal more handprints.

“How? There are no puncture marks,” Athanatos murmured, approaching Veranda's side.

“It tapped directly into her magic,” Veranda said. “I may have been inclined to say she came into contact with a very old curse. But something ungodly attempted to take her life force. She accomplished quite a feat battling it off. She needs to be fed.”

Veranda gestured for Athanatos to take Capry.

“Grand Sorceress, I will be waiting in your chambers. Send the others,” she said respectfully. She then bowed and vanished.

“I think it’s wise to relocate the hosts for the time being,” the Grand Sorceress said after a moment. “I must seal this hallway off. Tend to your fledgling, Athanatos. I will come by to check on her shortly.”

Athanatos scooped Capry gently from the hard stone floor. She was cold to the touch and dangled limply from his arms. He blankly carried her from the hallway and headed towards the stairs to the infirmary.

*********************

“Oh dear!” Healer Ivy gasped when Athanatos entered her office. “What on Earth happened?”

“I was hoping you might be able to tell me,” Athanatos said. He followed her into a vacant room and laid Capry on the cot.

Healer Ivy immediately summoned a host and began examining Capry.

“She touched the statue upstairs on the fifth floor,” Athanatos began slowly. He seemed to be in a state of shock. “Her whole body turned gray. She got drawn in by something. When Elder Veranda arrived she said Capry would have to break the hold on her own. And she did. But she’s been seriously harmed.”

Healer Ivy was studying the handprints on Capry’s skin. She rolled up her sweats to find more of the same markings all over Capry’s legs along with some scratches and bloody fingernail gashes. The skin under her eyes was turning an awful purplish color as if someone had struck her. Upon further examination, the handprints on her neck were placed in such a way that suggested she’d been strangled and the bruising under her eyes could have been burst blood vessels. Athanatos inwardly cringed.

“Have you ever seen anything like this before, Ivy?” he asked anxiously.

“Never in my hundreds of years here,” Healer Ivy said quietly. “Whatever it was, it completely drained her. She’s absolutely battered, the poor thing.”

A female host entered the room, the surprise evident on her face. She paused hesitantly, taking a step back.

“Thank you for coming Penelope,” Healer Ivy said ushering her forward. “She may need a little help. I don’t think she’ll be able to feed on her own.”

Penelope seemed to take a moment to ground herself before she approached Capry. There was an odd energy hovering around the girl like a shadow. It made her feel incredibly uneasy. She tried to shake it off and do her job before they called another host. This was by far the worst injury she had seen, but there was something about how Capry smelled. Her soul needed to be cleansed.

Penelope bit into the artery on her wrist. The blood began flowing freely out of the wound immediately. She moved towards Capry and let it pour into her slightly open mouth. She waited to see if Capry would latch. She didn’t. The blood began seeping out of her mouth and dripping down the side of her face. Penelope licked the deep puncture wounds in her flesh to close them and quickly stepped away, hugging her elbows. She was visibly uncomfortable.

“We’ll have to do this intravenously,” Healer Ivy said briskly. She then exited the room to fetch supplies. Athanatos sighed and sat down next to his fledgling, pinching the bridge if his nose. He felt as though he had failed her in some incredibly vital way. She’d almost been killed right in front of him and he’d been unable to do anything about it.

“I’ve seen these markings before,” Penelope broke the silence, pulling him out of his thoughts. “They were in my advanced history text book when we were researching the rise and fall of King Zagreus.”

“Please elaborate,” Athanatos sat up straighter when she mentioned the Great King. He was the first of their kind and the immortal being that dreaded statue depicted.

“King Zagreus was covered in this pattern,” she said motioning towards Capry’s exposed flesh. “His entire body, just like this. I believed they were tattoos at the time. Or possibly even some intense branding. There aren’t actually any pictures of him that exist. Just paintings. And you know how artists are with their interpretations.”

Penelope nervously twirled a loose piece of her hair around her fingers as she studied the angry red marks from a distance. “That is utterly fascinating,” she muttered chewing her lip.

Athanatos was about to tell the girl to go be fascinated somewhere else but was thankfully cut off by Healer Ivy returning with her medical supplies.

“Alright,” she said. “Arm please, Penelope,” she motioned for Penelope to sit next to Capry. Athanatos noticed that Penelope scooted her chair a couple feet away from the bed before she sat down. It was as though she was afraid to touch her.

“Would you like us to call another host?” Athantos snapped. “If you’re uncomfortable with doing your job we can find someone who can help her without squirming.”

“N-no Elder!’ Penelope said hastily. “I apologize.” She pushed her arm towards Healer Ivy, who quickly swabbed Penelope’s arm before Athanatos could boot the host out of the room. She carefully inserted one needle and then did the same to Capry connecting them together. Athanatos was clearly agitated but he took a deep breath and disengaged. He focused on the blood moving from Penelope to Capry and tried to relax.

“This may take a while, Athanatos,” Healer Ivy said nonchalantly. “I’m sure you want to address this with the Grand Sorceress or perhaps take a walk to clear your mind? I will summon you when something changes.”

“I really shouldn’t,” Athanatos replied firmly. “I think it would be best if I stay with her. The Grand Sorceress told me to come here instead.”

“So… is this why the fifth floor has been closed?” Penelope asked hesitantly. “Before I came here, the Grand Sorceress moved us to the extra dorms on the third floor and she completely sealed off the doors leading to the statue. Is it that serious?”

Athanatos felt his irritation rear up and tried desperately to push it down. Although this host was mildly annoying, he knew his anger was misplaced.

“Penelope dear, don't pry,” Healer Ivy warned lightly. She had felt Athanatos bristle next to her. She knew he wasn't an incredibly patient vampire and he was visibly upset about the state of his fledgling, which was completely unusual. Pushing too much could potentially bring undesired results.

“You know everything you see and hear in this room is confidential,” Athanatos stated shortly.

“Of course, Elder,” Penelope said apologetically. “I hope to become a Healer's assistant one day,” she said. “I wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize that.”

“It makes no difference,” Athanatos mused dismissively. “I’m sure it’s already made the rounds through the students. There were quite a few present to bear witness.”

“It could be a good thing, Elder,” Penelope said respectfully as she opened and closed her fist, trying to work her blood into Capry quicker. “Someone may have picked up on something nobody else did.”

“Yes, but my concern is for my fledgling,” Athanatos said. He didn’t vocalize the many reasons he was worried to the host. There were things occurring outside of the Academy that were of great concern. Things that could bring him out of retirement.

Covens didn’t usually fight amongst themselves but there was mounting tension about blood purity that was causing close communities to turn against each other and things were getting violent. There had been talk of temporarily halting the admission of mixed students until it blew over. That option was out of the question unless they were able to open a new academy in the human realm that could provide the same services for new fledglings as Vhladévara did. The drawbacks of a second location would be a lower quality of education due to a shortage of capable instructors. And of course the undesirable location. The students would be at greater risk of being killed because of the abundance of human hunters and blood purists alike. The vampire slayers in the human realm would burn such a place to the ground if they discovered its' existence.

If Capry was indeed mixed, she could potentially be in danger, along with others like her. He feared there would be no way to legitimize her blood even if she did end up being pure. His goal was to get her trained and able to defend herself as soon as possible, to hopefully avoid more incidents like this. This evening had given him a sense of urgency and he wasn’t sure if Capry would be able to excel quickly enough to protect herself. It was hard waters to navigate.

Being inside the veil posed different threats for there were old families who fully supported the purification movement and Capry was living in the same vicinity as their impressionable children. It had been decided they would continue accepting them if they met the requirements, although Elder Veranda usually made it difficult every time. After tonight, Athanatos knew she wouldn’t be able to find a reason to keep Capry out. Although he was now worried that he had inadvertently lied to Capry when he told her she would be better off here.

“You couldn’t have known this would happen,” Healer Ivy said comfortingly as though he had verbally expressed his feelings. She was incredibly attuned to other’s emotions. Even if it wasn’t always appropriate or welcome. She didn’t ever cross any boundaries by reading thoughts. She believed the mind was a private thing that one should be invited to see. But the Aura of an individual was a different matter. Athanatos didn’t offer a reply but he appreciated the kind words.

He glanced at his fledgling and realized that her eyes were darting back and forth under her closed eyelids. Her hands were fists and he was afraid whatever had happened to her in that dimly lit hallway, was happening again. He stood quickly.

“Relax Athanatos, she’s dreaming,” Healer Ivy attempted to sound soothing. It might have worked if Capry didn’t look so uncomfortable. Her color was coming back slowly, but as Penelope’s blood entered her system, Capry’s wounds began to bleed again. Upon further observation, Athanatos realized the blood was seeping out of deep, circular puncture marks, about the size of quarters.

Healer Ivy brought out a home made balm that was mostly just vampire saliva with soothing herbs and began applying it to Capry’s skin. At some point she had decided it was awkward to lick students to heal their injuries. Especially when they were unable to do it themselves.

“If this doesn’t work, I’ll have to figure something else out. These marks are strange,” she murmured. To her credit, her special balm seemed to be effective almost immediately. “This wasn’t just a malevolent spirit that got a hold of her,” Healer Ivy said. “Something like this had to have been done by a vampire.”

“How would that work?” Athanatos asked. “There was no one else in the hallway with us. Not that I could see,” He trailed off because he had definitely felt something there with them. It had been awful.

“Whatever she connected with had to have a direct line to her somehow,” Healer Ivy said thoughtfully. “It’s almost as though she’s been marked. I’m not sure for what or why. But I don’t think this could have happened to anyone just walking by. I’ve seen plenty of students touch that statue. Mostly the fledglings from the human realm. They like to take pictures. She may have woken something that was sleeping quite deeply. These marks-” Healer Ivy motioned to the handprints, “-They’re all different sizes. Some as small as children’s. And the pattern looks ancient. There is no other word for it.”

Capry’s arms abruptly shot out as though she was trying to catch herself from falling and her eyes fluttered open. She blinked a couple times, her eyelids visibly swollen. She immediately found Athanatos and when she did, her hand reached out for him and she began to cry.

Penelope’s lower lip trembled for a moment. Hosts could often feel other’s emotions when they were sharing their blood.

Athanatos came to Capry’s side and looked at the tears streaming down her face. He reached out slowly and wiped them away and then gruffly took her hand. It was a gesture that was obviously alien to him, but he did it nonetheless. And in that moment he knew he would protect her with his life. He kept explaining his feelings away as a strange bond that must happen when you become someone’s Guardian. But something else was telling him this was an unusual reaction to have. It made him uncomfortable for he didn’t allow anyone to see any side of him. People described him as a machine. He didn’t have friends or a personality. He was all business and anger. Because for a long time, that’s how he stayed alive.

Capry held on to him as though she would fly away. “I’m ok now, right?” she asked him, her voice hoarse and barely above a whisper.

“Yes, I think so,” Athanatos said, patting her hand. All signs of aggravation instantly melted away.

Healer Ivy had never seen two vampires more well suited to each other. This young girl was somehow bringing Athanatos out of his armored shell. It was almost as though the two had always been fated to meet. Athanatos needed somebody to care about, even if he didn’t know it himself. And she thought maybe he needed someone to care about him as well. It touched her heart.

“It was so awful,” Capry whispered, a fresh bout of tears beginning. “There are so many souls,” she said ominously. She paused to take a few deep breaths, cringing as though it caused her discomfort to speak.

Penelope felt the hairs on her arms stand on end but fought the urge to lean away.

“Please rest, Capry,” Athanatos said. “We can talk about this when you feel a bit better. Try to sleep.”

“I don’t ever want to sleep again,” Capry said earnestly meeting his gaze, her eyes as wide as the swelling would allow. “He’ll be there.”

“Who?” Athanatos asked.

“I-I don’t know,” Capry fell silent, still squeezing Athanatos’ hand. She glanced around the room and for the first time seemed to become aware that there were other people present. She cleared her throat and drew into herself.

Capry thought about all she’d seen. If she had thought Athanatos resembled death she had been so very wrong. Her whole body ached and she felt weak. She looked down at the needle in her arm and saw the I.V. that connected her to an older looking girl who was staring at her sadly. She could feel the warmth of the host’s blood filling her up. The redness of the marks on her skin was subsiding a bit, but the tribal pattern seemed to be staying put. Capry examined herself. She could still clearly see the handprints but the one that stuck out the most to her was the smallest one. It had been a baby, no more than a year or two old that had reached out and grasped her hand tightly, much how she was holding onto her Guardian now.

She had held on to the tiny being as long as she could. She couldn’t shake the innocence and incomprehension in those bright eyes. It must have been terrifying existing in such infinite chaos. It was tough to tell the gender of any of the faces she’d seen. But the child’s face was burned into her memory.

The screams and moans had enveloped her as the spirits latched on to any part of her they could, as though she could pull them out of their prison. They had only managed to pull her down into them. Capry felt their nails scraping against her skin. She smelled their rot and their desperation. It was a sea of pain that stretched on as far as her eye could see. It was dark and cold there. A vast expanse of nothingness that pressed in on her, crushing her uncomfortably. They kept pleading for her to help them, their voices rising at an alarming volume.

“I can’t. I don’t know what to do!” her voice had escaped her fearfully. She found it strange that there was no echo and none of the spirits seemed to comprehend that she had spoken to them. They just kept grabbing onto her, pulling her further and further into the abyss.

As they yanked and jerked at her limbs, she felt something stir in the distance. It was subtle at first like a prickling sensation all over her skin. Closely followed by a tremor that shot through the spirits like a bomb on impact. Capry watched in confusion as they all began to let go of her arms and legs, shrinking away from her, and dissolving like smoke. She heard the distinct sound of something rather large approaching her. Thunderous footsteps that shook the ground underneath her. She blinked, trying to force her eyes to adjust to the suffocating black around her but could no longer see anything. The many spirits that had surrounded her had been the only detectable source of light in this odd place. How could they just be gone, as though they had hidden? She wished she could hide as well. Everything was now deathly quiet and she found the sensory deprivation disorienting.

Something was slinking towards her in the darkness, reaching out and searching. She felt it brush against her leg and took a step back, clamping her hands over her mouth to keep from screaming. The air around her seemed to quiver in fear. She was yanked through the dark by a set of strong large hands that pulled her roughly off her feet. She was too petrified to make a sound. It inhaled deeply, taking in her scent with rattling breaths. This being had a sour rotten stench emanating off of its' leathery sand paper flesh that scraped against her already raw skin.

“You are of Genevieve,” a voice boomed. She could feel his harsh breath wash over her face with the acrid stench of blood and meat. “You are of meee.” She could feel strange tendril like appendages probing at her, wrapping around her waist and legs. She stiffened immediately, deathly afraid of what would happen next. Her breath had quickened shakily as she began to struggle against whatever had her.

“It is no use,” the creature told her tonelessly. “You are a meal fit for a King.”

The tendrils promptly pierced her skin making her whimper briefly. She felt strong hands clamp down on her throat and squeeze hard, instantly cutting off any sounds she made. She gulped for air but was unable to get any into her lungs as the blood rushed to her face. She saw an explosion of white spots before her eyes as her limbs began to spasm involuntarily. The tendrils seemed to be draining her of her blood as well as her life. She was quite certain she would die here in this chamber of nothingness, just another soul to be trapped here with this thing, screaming for all eternity. It was more painful than she had imagined it would be. Like this awful empty demon was taking her soul.

As the creature fed from her she got glimpses of images, perhaps memories. And they were all terrible. The ripping of flesh, screams, and blood. Children being ripped from their mothers and devoured. Sacrifices of flesh being made at bloody alters. And a woman who seemed to delight in all the c*****e.

From deep within, Capry pushed with the only energy she had left. Blinding light erupted into the darkness directly from her body with so much force, the creature's tendrils were ripped from the holes they’d made. She heard and smelled the creature’s flesh begin to sizzle. With an inhuman screech, he cast her away from him. She went flying through the air towards a distant light that shone through the shadows of all the souls that screamed and dove towards her as she flew past, picking up speed. She felt her body land hard against stone and everything went blank. Then she had woken up in the infirmary, yet again.

She stared vacantly at the ceiling for several minutes and only stirred when Healer Ivy removed her I.V.

“It was my pleasure serving you,” the host said before she hastily moved towards the door to depart, without looking back. Capry watched as she exited the room and the Grand Sorceress appeared. The host bowed politely and continued on her way.

“She’s been through quite an ordeal,” Healer Ivy murmured to the Grand Sorceress. “It may be wise to not ask too much of her until she’s had time to recover.”

“This can’t wait,” the Grand Sorceress stated with finality.

Healer Ivy gathered the rest of her supplies and left them alone. Athanatos saluted the Grand Sorceress as he usually did. He then returned to his seat his posture tense and upright. He was hoping the Grand Sorceress would have some kind of explanation or new information.

She approached Capry and ran her fingers over the pattern on her arms, her brow furrowing.

“How are you feeling, dear?” she asked. A chair came sliding across the floor. She sat down next to Capry’s bed and stared at her urgently

“I’m tired,” Capry stated simply. Her voice was scratchy and her throat throbbed every time she spoke. Athanatos offered her some water. Capry took a couple small sips.

“Capry, I need you to tell me anything you remember about what happened to you. It’s incredibly important,” the Grand Sorceress said seriously. Capry stayed silent for a moment and then hesitantly reached out and touched the Grand Sorceress’ hand, as though she was unsure how to proceed. She willed herself to show Acara all that she had seen because she wasn’t sure she would be able to explain it otherwise. Or even get the words out without losing her voice.

The Grand Sorceress’ eyes clouded over as she allowed Capry to share her memories. She was caught off guard by how vivid the images were. Her senses became overloaded and she broke the contact with Capry, her eyes wide with fear. She had felt the brutal assault that Capry had experienced. She had felt the hands that had torn into her skin. And the awful tendrils that had dug underneath Capry’s ribs.

“We have to set them free,” Capry said, her voice barely audible. “They’re just trapped there with him like some awful trophy collection."

“Under no circumstances can you go back there,” Acara said sternly reaching out for Capry. Athanatos detected a very slight tremble in the Grand Sorceress’ hands as she placed it on Capry’s cheek. “You can’t.”

“What is going on?” Athanatos asked, his anxiety ringing out as impatience.

Acara stared into Capry’s eyes a moment longer, trying to drive her words home.

“We believe she stumbled upon Zagreus’ vault. The statue acted as a portal. We’re unsure how she was able to open it. Or if it was even her at all. Some of the most powerful ancient magic in existence was cast to seal him in. There is no way she would know how to break them. Not even the oldest vampires would know how . These markings on her skin are his,” the Grand Sorceress said darkly.

“The host mentioned that,” Athanatos said, surprised the girl had actually been correct.

“Who is Zagreus?” Capry croaked, her voice giving out on his name. Her mother had always told her that putting a name to the thing she was afraid of would take the fear away. But she found that learning his name was somehow worse. It sounded powerful.

“In his time, Zagreus was a king. Thousands of years ago. He was a powerful sorcerer that ruled over many kingdoms. And he had a queen who was just as powerful if not more so,” Acara began.

“Genevieve?” Capry whispered. The Grand Sorceress paused.

“No…” she said slowly. “Not Genevieve. How do you know about her?” the Grand Sorceress asked. She thought she may have been hasty in breaking the contact with Capry.

“He told me I was of Genevieve and of him,” Capry managed to push out.

“Genevieve was a large part of why he fell,” the Grand Sorceress replied slowly. “She was a human that he lusted after. Such relationships were forbidden, but Zagreus was a king and did as he pleased. When his wife, Queen Laurel learned of the relationship, she cursed Zagreus. She vanquished him to the shadow realm and there, the demons fed on him, turning him into what he is. What we all are. But this only made Zagreus more powerful. He broke free and claimed his new Queen, Genevieve. She nearly died giving birth to their only child, the first Born Vampire in history. To save her, Zagreus turned her into the first Made Vampire, but she became a monster. To keep her pleased and her appetite fed, they killed countless humans and magical beings alike. But Genevieve wanted more. She wanted the life of Queen Laurel because she suspected Zagreus still loved her. Knowing she wouldn’t be powerful enough to do it herself, Genevieve convinced Zagreus to do it for her. To prove his love. Zagreus returned to the kingdom he’d been banished from. But when he saw his Queen and the mother of his children, he couldn’t follow through with Genevieve’s plan. He loved Laurel. He begged her to forgive him for all he’d done to her. But when Zagreus claimed a new queen, it shattered Laurel and she couldn’t forgive him for violating their sacred bond. Or for all the innocents he had taken to make his new bride happy. She was disgusted by what he had become.

“The Elders of that time decided that something must be done about Zagreus and Genevieve. The killing had to stop. So they created two realms for each and hunted them down. It is said that when Laurel rejected Zagreus he became unhinged, and the killing only increased. Genevieve had begun to tactlessly form an army that she couldn’t control and they were ravaging the Earth. The Elder's locked them both away where they still exist today, wasting away.”

“What about Queen Laurel?” Capry asked curiously.

“She reigned for many years after the fall of Zagreus,” The Grand Sorceress said. “And now she sleeps.”

“Has Zagreus been set free?” Athanatos asked.

“I don’t believe so,” Acara replied. “I think he has awakened from his sleep and tried to draw enough power from Capry to break free. But something went wrong. I’m not sure why it was you, dear,” the Grand Sorceress mused. “But there is a reason he tried to use you to get out, and because of that, you need to stay far away from there. We don’t know how far he can reach. It’s likely he’s still too weak to break free and we need to keep it that way.

“I’m going to send Elder Virgil to attempt to reinforce the old magic. To create an extra barricade. We’ve discussed removing the statue from the Academy,” the Grand Sorceress continued. “I need you to gather your best warriors, Athanatos. To accompany him.”

“Can it be destroyed?” Athanatos asked.

“Hopefully in time we can destroy it safely, without setting him free. I have to travel to Gikaineró. They’ve given me permission to access their scrolls. For now, our objective is to keep him locked away,” the Grand Sorceress said.

She then turned to address Capry.

“Healer Ivy is bringing another host to help you heal. Please Capry, stay here until Athanatos returns for you. He shouldn’t be gone more than a few hours. Just focus on resting.”

Capry nodded.

Athanatos turned to leave the room when he heard Capry’s small voice enter his mind.

“Please come back,” she said simply. He could feel that she was deathly afraid that he wouldn’t.

“I will,” he responded. “Do not worry about me.”

Capry did worry. Very much.