The Vampires' Last Sacrifice

A Secret Kept (Seven)

I waited patiently for Vincent to return from his outing. He left me with two kisses in the middle of the night (one for me and one for our child). I was angry with him for leaving again, but more angry with myself for not being understanding enough. I knew he had to leave, he was a kind after all, but something about this time made my blood boil. He had told me to go back to sleep, that I would need my rest for the morning, but my eyes refused to close.

                “My Queen,” the maid bowed as she entered, “the King has arrived.”

                I didn’t bother to reply back to her. I jumped up and ran downstairs. Gregory was standing in the entrance with Nena. Vincent was laughing with a man that was surely shorter than me. I noticed them all bow as I approached them, including Vincent.

                “My Queen,” Vincent said as he pulled me into a long kiss.

                “Ass.” I replied and pushed him away, but he only laughed.

                “Ben, this is Queen Lucia, my beautiful wife.”

                The man called “Ben” bowed.

                “Hello,” I said in monotone.

                “Come we have much to discuss,” Vincent said as he took my arm.

                We walked to Vincent’s office. He sat in his chair; I sat on the desk, while Ben sat a chair in front of the desk.

                “I’d like to first start by saying this is off record and free of charge,” Ben said.

                “Thank you very much for that, old friend,” Vincent smiled at him, like a child would smile at blood candy.

                “What’s free of charge?” I asked, not bothering to show my annoyance.

                “Lucia a lot of people wish to harm us, you know this, yes?” Vincent asked.

                “I’m not a fucking five year old; don’t talk to me like that. I know people are out to get us,” I snapped at him.

                “I’m sorry love,” Vincent said as he rubbed the back of my hand, “I’ve found a way to keep us safe for eternity. Wouldn’t you like that? We could live for forever, all together. Our baby and we are going to be indestructible.”

                “How?” this was strange to me. How would this be possible?

                “It’s a shield. You cannot be harmed while it’s up, and this one never goes down.”

                I thought about it for a minute. People were obviously fucking with my head. What if they decided to do that to our child too? I wouldn’t allow it. We had to do this, and the sooner the better.

                “Let’s do it.”

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

                “I need you both to have clear thoughts. Think of nothing and we will get through this smoothly. Are you doing it?” he paused for a moment as we thought of nothing, “Good. Now think of your child and your love. Think of how you need to be safe,” he continued, “now I need you to listen carefully. This is going to hurt for a few seconds. You’re going to see and feel all of the pain that you’ve seen or felt before. Don’t be alarmed, it’s just part of the process. It will not harm your body or the baby. One…” I took a breath, “Two…” I let it out, “Three…”I screamed.

                I was in the park running around and playing. I was five. It was summer and very hot, hot enough for bees. One was chasing me, so I ran. The faster I ran the less stable I became. I fell. My knee was scratched up and bleeding and it hurt.

                I was ten now my father was drunk, but I didn’t notice it then. He had accidentally dropped his cigarette on my arm. I screamed.

                More memories came and went, but the one that was out of place was the last one. It had been going in chronological order, but this one should have been first.

                I was a very small baby, probably no more than three months. My mother was beautiful. She was rocking me to sleep. I stared into her eyes for a while, the beautiful blue color glistened. She was crying softly as she laid me down in my crib. There was a loud noise and my mother rushed back in. She was screaming in a language I did not understand. She ran to me and then to my brother. We were both in her arms. Three men came in the room dressed in black. They also spoke a language I didn’t understand. They were calm, while she begged. Two of the men pulled out guns that had lasers on the end. Each man had one on my brother and me. My mother began screaming louder as she laid us gently on the floor, after giving us each a kiss. “Seien Sie sichere, liebste Tochter. Lassen Sie sie nicht Ihr Herz oder Liebe entfernen. Erinnern Sie sich, dass er Sie liebt, wie konnte er sie nie lieben,” she whispered to me. The men lowered their guns and moved forward to take us in their arms. They spoke more words then left with us.

                My body and heart ached as the memories stopped. I thought about the last memory, the one I didn’t know I had. I thought of how much my mother loved us. She was forced to let us go. “Seien Sie sichere, liebste Tochter. Lassen Sie sie nicht Ihr Herz oder Liebe entfernen. Erinnern Sie sich, dass er Sie liebt, wie konnte er sie nie lieben,” I repeated as I sat up.

                “Where did you hear that?” Vincent asked, coming to my side.

                “My mother whispered it to me the last time I saw her,” I felt a tear escape my eye.

                “Which mother?”

                “My birth mother,” I answered, “do you know what it means?”

                “Be safe, dearest daughter. Do not let her remove your heart or love. Remember that he loves you, like he could never love her,” Vincent said slowly so I understood. I thought a moment.

                “Vincent did you know my mother?”

                “Yes.”