Of Gods and Goddesses: Book 3 (Lords and Commoners Series) Read online

  “I assure you, he is very old and his heart belongs to another.”

  “Who is she? I’ve never seen him with anyone.”

  Sadness flashed in Mari’s eyes. “She is not here but she will return, soon … I hope. I pray that she will come and rescue us from this place. She is our Queen — our rightful Queen.”

  “So if she is the Queen, that makes Elijah the King?”

  Mari nodded. “The King of the Vampires or he once was. That should not surprise you. He’s clearly the leader here.”

  “I thought your King would be old or something, I don’t know.”

  “Elijah is the oldest amongst us, now that John is gone or missing — wherever he may be.”

  But Bray was barely listening. The fact that Elijah was a king was not nearly as hard for her to accept as the fact that he had a wife. But he can’t be married. Bray thought. She was grasping for something — anything to keep her heart from falling to pieces. A tear formed in her eye. She quickly wiped it away, hoping Mari wouldn’t noticed.

  Mari did not notice because a tear rolled down her own cheek.

  “What’s the matter?” Bray asked.

  “Elijah’s wife is my dearest friend. I miss her so much.”

  Bray’s frown deepened. She put her arm around Mari’s shoulder and Bray was surprised that Mari let her.

  “Where is she?”

  “No one knows.”

  Bray waited for an opportunity to speak with Elijah. As soon as Riddick moved from Elijah’s side Bray took his place. “So you’re married?” Bray tried to sound casual — just making conversation.

  “Aye.”

  “Is it your wife who came between you and Count Dracula,” Jack asked.

  Elijah chuckled. “It actually sounds funny when you put it that way.”

  “What happened?” Bray said.

  Elijah frowned as the memories returned. What Teller almost did to Vallachia when they found him after almost two hundred years of searching. The pleasure Elijah felt when his hands crushed Teller’s windpipe. The truth is Vallachia has always been between Teller and me — since 1260. “I’m not going to talk about it, so you can give up now.”

  Bray noticed that Elijah’s hands had tightened into fist.

  “Wait, let me guess, you have been married for like … what … a hundred years or something crazy like that?” Bray tried to lighten his mood.

  “We were married in 1462,” Elijah replied.

  Her face fell. “No way. You two must be ancient. And you put up with each other for all those years?”

  “We are ancient. We were together for two hundred years before that as dear friends. And there was no ‘putting up with her’, as you so elegantly stated.”

  “Well, excuse me for not being able to talk like I’m from the 1800’s.”

  “I was born in the early sixth century — A.D. that is. Of course, we spoke different languages entirely back then.”

  “You’re lying.”

  “Precise dates have long since been forgotten. They are of little concern. It is easy to lose track after that many centuries.”

  Bray shook her head in disbelief and fell silent as she tried to wrap her head around this. “I’m not stupid. You actually expect me to believe that you are … however old that is?”

  “It doesn’t matter what you believe.”

  “You must really love her,” Bray said. “What’s it like to be with one person for that long?”

  “It’s as if we are one,” Elijah said. “We know each other’s thoughts. We often do not have to speak, we simply know. We move as one. You see, vampires mate for life and it is not a prison sentence. We truly cherish each other. There is no growing tired of one another. There is only … caring.” He paused and shook his head, as he tried to push away the pain that was overtaking him. “I suppose that is the way it is with all my oldest comrades. Take Riddick for example, he is an extension of me as well. He knows what should be done as soon as I do. We work in perfect unison. Words are not always needed. Often a nod or a look is all that is required.”

  “Wow.” But Bray was not interested in Riddick. “So why did she leave, if you two were so close and … you know, you’re meant to be together and all?”

  “Whatever her reasons, she has good cause.” Elijah spoke through a clenched jaw. He stood to leave.

  Bray’s heart sank even farther as she watched him go.

  The Court lead many more missions to release humans from Elda’s prisons. Elijah was not sure if the people they set free around the world survived. Perhaps they would eventually be recaptured but at least the Court was doing something to help. The more problems they caused for their enemy the better.

  There were other changes that needed to be made in this new world. Elijah declared that it was against the Court’s laws to turn humans into vampires. Human blood was scarce and far too precious. Anyone who remained loyal to the Court was to abide by this new law — no new vampires.

  Samuel and Aaron were able to hijack a satellite.

  “Will this give us the ability to communicate remotely?” Elijah asked.

  Aaron nodded. “We can coordinate missions with Hector and his branch of the Court in Australia, as well as Shantanu and Jinlan.”

  “It’s like the U.S. Government — they had their very own secure communications network. They had internet, email, phone access and the like all on their own system.” Samuel smiled with pride.

  “So no one will be able to access this but us?” Teller asked.

  “Correct. Only people with the security codes will be able to use this network,” Samuel said.

  “What if Elda finds out about the system? Will she be able to break into it?” Elijah asked.

  “Not easily. For now the network is so new that she could not possibly know we have it,” Aaron offered.

  “That makes sense. You can’t hack into something you don’t know exists,” Teller said.

  “I’ll keep the system operable and maintain its security,” Aaron said.

  “At least Samuel and Aaron’s nerdiness is paying off,” Teller teased.

  “You should be grateful we’re nerds,” Samuel and Aaron said in unison.

  “Well, I am now,” Teller said.

  “And you two nerds have clearly spent way too much time together,” Elijah added.

  “We have all spent far too much time together and now we’re cooped up in this tunnel every night. This can’t be good,” Riddick said.

  “It will be a miracle if we don’t kill one another.” Abdullah chuckled.

  Elijah wondered how they had become utterly dependent on modern technology. Most of his life he hadn’t known what electricity was. But since the apocalypse, it was all he thought about. Without the cooling units for their blood supply the blood would spoil and all would be lost — the Court, the resistance, everything. Elijah shook his head. “You do realize that we spent the vast majority of our lives without any technology? We could get by without modern communication once again, if we had to.”

  “Luckily we don’t have to,” Samuel said.

  Chapter 45 Northern Canada 2021 A.D

  Vallachia watched from afar as the world and her kingdom fell apart. It pained her to know that all was lost but she was not about to leave her babies or expose them to this chaotic world. Protecting them was what mattered most. When her baby girls slept, she worked hard to learn her mother’s ways — the ways of the Great Goddess. Valentina was convinced that this was the best way to help her people and to keep her daughters safe.

  Vera and Veva were growing slowly, which was still too fast for Val; yet they were healthy and as steady as the sun. Val had wanted to be a mother her entire life so she cherished every moment of her time in the volcano.

  Thankfully there were two girls to fuss over, as the babies had four women fighting over them. Valentina, Angela and Sasha would argue about who got to hold them or feed them. However, the diaper changing was often left to Val.

  The girls
appeared to be more human than vampire. As they grew they ate human food — a lot of it. They slept through the night. They did not appear to have fangs or wings — in fact, they had no teeth when they were born. Val thought of Vera and Veva as normal human babies.

  Being a mother was natural and easy. However, Val was lost when it came to her mother’s teachings. It was incredibly difficult to learn to calm her overactive mind. She was used to analyzing the world with an intelligent and critical eye. She needed to plan ahead at all times, especially in this isolated volcano where supplies were constantly on the verge of running out. I need to launder the diapers and it is my day to pick the garden … She was used to thinking like this. Now she was told she had to learn to think in an entirely new way. Calming her busy mind seemed impossible — there was simply too much work to be done to sit around and meditate.

  Valentina was a patient teacher. “In order to make a mind out of the overactive monkey in that head of yours, you must learn to focus on only the present. The only thing that matters right now is your breath. Let go of the past and do not concern yourself with the future.”

  Inhale… exhale... It does feels nice to simply breathe. The soft song of a bird rang out in the distance. Birds! “Did the chickens get fed this morning?”

  “That’s not what’s important at this time. The chickens are fine. You must focus. Tame that mischievous monkey inside. Focus only on your breath … in and out.”

  Val moaned. It was Sasha’s turn to feed the chickens this morning. Did she remember that it was her turn?

  “Gently push all other thoughts away. Inhale … exhale …”

  “How can you sit here and do nothing when there is so much work to be done?”

  “Prayer is far from ‘doing nothing’. The work will get done. There is time for both. We work hard and we pray hard — that’s our philosophy. It’s the key to a balanced life.”

  “This is not my idea of prayer. This is a waste of time.” Val was anxious to check on the chickens.

  “When you calm your mind, it opens. You will witness the power of prayer once you are able to control that little monkey jumping around in there.” Valentina poked at Val’s forehead.

  “Then I will be able to help set the protection spell over this place?”

  “Indeed and much more. We’ll need your help to cast a protective layer over the tunnels as well.”

  “To protect Elijah and the others — we can do that from here?”

  “Yes. The more spiritual energy we have the more powerful we’ll be. That’s why we need you. With your help we should be able to protect your friends as well.”

  Now this was motivation! Val was excited about the prospect of being able to help the ones she loved. Clear my mind. Breathe. …

  As the years passed, Val improved. To her surprise she found a whole new world once she was able to, “make a mind out of a monkey,” as her mother would say. She began to feel and know things in a different way. For example, she could “see” the thin transparent layer of protection that domed the inactive volcano around them, as well as the one they placed over Elijah and the others. She could not see it with her eyes but she could feel that it was there. She also knew that it worked to keep Elda from finding them. Val did not know this because her brain told her it was logical. She understood this to be true in her heart. She could feel that it worked.

  Val often had dreams that came true. She had a dream that Angela fell and cut her leg. Val had all but forgotten the dream until Angela slipped the next day and sliced her lower leg on an axe.

  “I saw that same deep gash in the same exact spot on Angela’s leg in a dream last night,” Val said.

  “Why didn’t you tell us? Sometimes we can prevent such accidents,” Valentina said.

  “I didn’t remember the dream until now. I didn’t think it was real or … would become real.”

  “You’re opening your mind more all the time. Your sight will become more powerful as you grow. It’s time for you to start writing down your dreams and studying them. With practice you can learn which ones feel real and may come true and which ones are only dreams,” Valentina lectured.

  Val tried not to breathe in the sweet scent of fresh blood as she cleaned and bandaged Angela’s cut. “I’m sorry — if I could have prevented this and I didn’t…”

  “Don’t be sorry, dear. It’s my fault. I’m the klutz,” Angela said.

  “We can help to heal it faster,” Val offered.

  “No, no. It’s a simple cut. It will heal fine on its own. There’s no need to fuss over me.”

  Chapter 46 South America 2034 A.D

  Teller was having trouble sleeping. Whenever he dozed off he was awakened by a familiar voice calling his name. Upon awakening, he would be alone. After the third night of fighting this he gave up on sleep and walked the tunnels. He saw candlelight coming from one of the humans’ quarters. It was Tomamacowee’s room.

  Her curtain was pulled back so Teller appeared in her doorway. “Can’t sleep either?” He did not have to worry about whether or not she was decent. She was always naked. She rarely even wore the decorative belt that some of the natives preferred.

  With all the endless time here Marcel had been teaching any who wanted to learn how to speak the local Tupian dialect. Teller had become quite fluent after all these years.

  “I know when someone is troubled,” the village grandmother replied.

  Teller was still not used to naked old ladies. He wished she would cover herself. “May I join you…Tomamac…?” he asked.

  “Please call me Tomoc. Of course you may join me, that’s why I’m awake. I’m here to help you.”

  “What makes you think you can help? I don’t even know if anything is wrong.”

  “Tell me, what’s troubling you.”

  “Surely it’s nothing. I have had a couple of restless nights — that’s all.”

  “Is it that you can’t fall asleep or does something wake you?”

  Teller narrowed his eyes. “Actually, I hear someone call my name. But when I wake no one is there.”

  “Ah, someone is trying to contact you from the other side.”

  “The other side?”

  “Yes. When one of our ancestors has an important message they call our names in the night to wake us. You see, we are most susceptible to the other side when we are in our dream states. It’s the best chance they have to reach this world. They usually do this when they need to warn us of danger or when we are in need of being reminded of our sacred path.”

  This sounded like gibberish to Teller. “I’m sure it’s nothing. After all, I don’t have any ancestors who would bother to warn me or remind me of religious beliefs.” This is utter nonsense. He stood to leave but the crone placed her thumbs on Teller’s temples and cupped her crooked fingers under his chin thus securing his face in her hands. He closed his eyes — largely to avoid the sight of wrinkled sagging breasts.

  Teller found himself surrounded by hazy figures. His eyes could not fully focus on any of them. They stood in a sea of white. The floor blended in with the walls and the walls blended with the roof — if there was a roof. The figures appeared to speed by him. Teller wasn’t sure if he was moving past them or if it was the other way around. From the brief glimpses he managed to sneak, the people appeared to have dark brown skin — naked in their youthful prime. Out of the crowd came a familiar face. It was the only one who came into focus. “Sergiu!”

  Sergiu opened his arms wide with a welcoming smile. Sergiu tried to speak but Teller went speeding away from him — back through the crowd. Teller found himself face first on the dirt floor of Tomoc’s chambers. “Sergiu!” He jumped to his feet. “Where did he go? He was trying to tell me something. It looked important.”

  “It most usually is. The other side does not often go through the trouble of trying to contact us unless it’s dire.” She issued a toothless grin in an I-told-you-so manner. “So an ancestor was indeed trying to contact you?”

 
; “He’s not an ancestor. He …” Teller choked. Seeing Sergiu’s face was wonderful. Yet, it opened up old wounds that had never fully healed. Now the scars had been ripped off and past wounds were bleeding all over again — not dripping blood but gushing blood. Teller managed to say, “He was a dear friend.”

  “Ancestors do not have to be in your direct blood line. They only have to be one of your people. This Sergiu, he was one of your people?”

  “I … I don’t know. I don’t have any people. I don’t belong to any tribe.”

  Tomoc laid herself down. “You poor thing. You don’t know who your people are?” There was true sorrow in the crones cloudy eyes.

  “No! You can’t sleep. You must send me back. I have to see him. He needs to tell me something.”

  “I can only show you the path. In order to speak with someone who’s on the other side, you will have to go there yourself.”

  “Please! Show me how.”

  Tomoc chuckled. “That can’t happen tonight. That’s impossible. It takes many moon cycles to learn how to go to the other side and return safely. I have spent much energy. For now I must rest.”

  Teller sighed. “Tomorrow then.” Teller covered the old woman with a blanket. This was not only out of kindness but also to cover her indecency. If only she would put some clothes on.

  Before this encounter with the village grandmother, Teller had only been tired. Now he was utterly troubled. His eyes filled with moisture as pain and longing overwhelmed him. “I will find you Sergiu. I promise.” He paced the tunnels until dawn. The thought of getting to see Sergiu, of getting to speak with him, soon eased the pain and filled Teller with anticipation.

  When Teller heard Tomoc stir from her slumber, he sped to her door. He tried to help her up.

  She shooed him away and got up on her own. “Not now, eager one. I have … human needs that I must take care of.” She scratched her bare butt as she shuffled toward the latrines outside — which consisted of a large stick-built outhouse with a green thatch roof. This was barely enough to sustain the growing number of humans. They were regularly having to build new ones and fill in the old holes.