A Requiem Eternal

Chapter 28 - An Unlikely Pair

Sara O'Duinn, Grimoire Entry, 4th November 2008 - Sorin agonized over what he had done. He could feel the need in Tasha as it grew. It pulsed through him as if it was his and would remain with him until she was transformed...or her soul ceased to exist. Tasha had not become his companion. She began the awakening.

Regrettably for Sorin, the evening arrived to teach his fledgling some of what was needed to survive, and none too soon, as he could sense the beginning of the madness that would visit her until she fed. It was by no means as strong as his hunger, but was an annoyance just the same.

It fell to him as her maker to take her from fledgling to Psyon. On the bed, she was pale and writhing with the compulsion to quiet the voices she heard. Her questioning eyes deserved an answer.

"What's happening to me?"

"I was drawn to you for a reason. You have suppressed abilities only my kind can sense. My intention was only to enjoy your presence and--"

"--Feed from me?"

"You are more skilled than you know. I wanted you and once sharing a dream with you, I wanted you more."

"When you visited my dreams?" she questioned in her haze.

"Yes, I could not break away last night. You had the power to overcome me. Do you remember, Tasha?"

"Yes, I remember, how?" Sorin interrupted her questions with the need to soothe her suffering and his.

"--I never meant for this to happen. Because the will to deny you escaped me, you are becoming what I am. You begin the awakening as a Psyon."

He took her hand and grasped it tightly so she could not move away. Her body was calmed and she connected with his thoughts almost instantly. Sorin's origin with the Children of Psyon began to unfold in a vision. The memory of his history stung once again as he related it.

"My history began with deception. The deception was religion. Today, my belief is that they are as one. I was born into my former human life, bound by involuntary servitude. I served ideas that did not suit me, that made no sense to me, then or now. I began life as a ward of the Knights Templar. I took their vows. I shared in their wealth and stature. They brought with them a life of forced celibacy and lies. The first lies came from the flawed entity I put my naive trust in. Then more lies from the core of my being that could not suffer the ruse they force-fed me each day. The only light in my darkness was the daughter of a Templar elder that was appointed to me, named Genevieve. My Gennie tended to me in the physical and mental pain the Crusades generated. Only she could understand and comfort me after battle. Numerous battles I did not understand or have a moral conviction for. Her unwavering faith in me and the cause drew me to bring her to our shame. The seduction was many years in the making and completely my fault. The forced birthright I had gained could not sway me from indulging myself with her love. I took her as my own on a warm spring day; knowing from that moment we would be hunted and faced a difficult if not impossible future ahead. Whispers of our bond circulated. The whispers soon turned to a trial."

"Sorin Ladislov, what say you to the charge of Heresy?"

"Not guilty."

"They dragged Gennie into the court in front of me. She was fatigued from the fight of her life. Her face bruised almost beyond recognition from the beatings that yielded their evidence."

"There is proof of relations with this woman,"

"Sorin, I--"

"Quiet, woman. The court has not addressed you."