Vampiric Interdiction

[8] Rath of the Moon

Before long the moon bathed Villahr’s entire arm in it’s glow. He held it outstretched within the stream of light for Karolinna to see, twisting it slowly, as if it were a piece of meat on a spit he needed to cook through evenly by the lick of the flames beneath.

“Villahr?” Karolinna said with a little more than concern in her voice, “What the hell are you doing?”

“Just watch,” he replied, gesturing to his bare limb soaking up all the rays of the night’s sun greedily. At first nothing happened. His skin was just as it was, pale and unblemished.

“Close the damn curtain, Lahr. I don’t need to see this.”

“Apparently you do. It’s impossible to get through to you and so I figure this is the best way to do so and get those idiotic notions of galavanting through the moonlight out of your pretty little head.” Villahr ignored Karolinna’s threatening tone, and made no move to do as she commanded of him. “Shall I continue my story?”

Karolinna was hesitant, still sure that whatever her friend was up to would surely do more harm than convincing, she took a step forward without thinking, but then stopped. Everything within screamed at her to stop this nonsense, but once Villahr got an idea in his head it was almost impossible to do so. There was no point in trying.

“Make it quick,” she shot her voice at him like venom from a snake’s fang. The sooner this is over the better. Villahr’s arm was already starting to change colour before her eyes.

“Alright then. Where was I? …Ah yes! When father found me, apparently I was in such a state he didn’t expect that I would make it through the night. I remember him rushing to my side and checking my vitals. I was cold, and he said my skin was almost black.”

Karolinna’s attention darted from Villahr’s vibrant eyes to his arm again, and her pulse began to quicken. The flesh there was no longer snow white and flawless, but blue, like the blush of her cheeks whenever he said something amusing or particularly flirtatious. It was a normal hue, for a Vici after getting a little heated, so that did not alarm her, but the fact that it was changing texture did. The skin didn’t look as porcelain smooth as it typically did, and Karolinna figured were she to close in and reach her fingers out to touch him it would feel rigid and bumpy.

“Villahr?” she warned, taking another step forward.

“Don’t! I’m fine,” he snapped at her, and she stopped dead in her tracks.

“Father was quick to remove the sweater I wore, which was doing little to protect me from the harsh winds and absolutely nothing to block out the effects of the moon. He completely stripped me down, before doing the same. I didn’t have much time to even think about what was going on before he wrapped his arms around me. The next thing I knew my entire body was submerged in the frothy, heated water of the pond.

I remember looking at him through the mirk. At his ethereal cream-coloured eyes. Not since my mother had I seen eyes that prepossessing. They were soothing and cordial, and they really put me at ease. I have no idea how long we were under but it felt like hours before he was helping me back out again and dressing me up in my clothes.”

Villahr paused and looked to his arm smiling. The expression was not exactly out of happiness, as Karolinna could see the pain in his gaze and in the furrow of his brow as he struggled to hold steady. His flesh was verging on a dark navy colour now, and his veins contrasted violently against it as they seemed to remain white and pure. He was shaking, and any pigment that his silvery-blue blood punched into the surface of his body was gone, his skin almost see-through.

“Villahr, please, stop. I get it. Close the curtain,” Karolinna protested. She didn’t move any closer however, because she didn’t want her companion to suffer any longer than necessary, and surely if she stopped him now he would just start all over again.