Back In Time

Chapter 25: In Which My Restraint Bites Ye Olde Dust

We fell into a schedule over the next week. Blood exchange, lesson, feeding, blood exchange, sleep. Allow me to elaborate.

Every evening when I woke up, Eric and I would exchange blood. It never got any less sexy, either. In fact, it seemed to become more arousing each time we fed from each other. Same with Godric, but I'm getting ahead of myself. After Eric and I completed our bonding for the evening, he was off to the castle. The only new information he obtained was that in addition to the two females Godric had encountered, there was another male. We were uncertain of whether Talbot and Russell were part of this coven or only traveling with them. It was not unheard of for groups to coexist when it was in their best interest or to repay some type of favour. Of course, these associations never lasted long; it was very difficult for non-nested vampires to tolerate each other's presence for any considerable amount of time.

After Eric left each night, Godric would get right down to my lesson. The first part of what we went over was done in discussion form. We started with popular tactics that we, as vampires, would use to manipulate each other in battle. For example, being that we were notoriously short tempered, it was quite easy to goad another vampire into action verbally. Obviously, this was handy on more than one level. First, it stands to reason that acting out of anger clouds your judgement and makes you sloppy. Second, by orchestrating the reaction of your opponent, you could direct the fighting to play out to your advantage. Lastly, you could potentially force an opponent to tire themselves with fruitless attacks.

The lessons transitioned into the physical realm when he taught me about our weak spots. Obviously, there are certain surefire ways to kill a vampire.

1. Wooden stake through the ticker.

2. Silver bullets (which hadn't come into popular use just yet).

3. Beheading.

4. Dismembering.

5. Fire.

6. The sun.

Now, there were some things on that list that I wasn't too crazy about trying. Fire, which was too uncontrollable to use safely. And the sun, which I would want to avoid for obvious reasons. After Godric explained that silver bullets were hard to come by and that the firing mechanisms in guns of this time were faulty (read: might backfire into your own face), that one got nixed off the list as well.

Which left me with staking, beheading and dismembering. Can't say I was a big fan of any of these methods, but I was willing to learn if it might save us. Staking was pretty straightforward. Get the stake, stab the vamp. Beheading and dismembering sound simple too, but there were some tricks. For example, in order to speed up the process, it's best to make a cut or gouge in the skin first. That way your fingers can get some purchase to actually tear the head or limbs off. So, biting with your teeth, cutting with a knife or sharp object, and tearing with your fingernails would be the best process. Glamorous, I know.

The next area he taught me about was running and hiding. Which sounds yellow bellied but I was so not above it. If it would keep me from having to bite a hole in some stranger's neck so I could rip their head off, I would gladly turn tail and get the heck out of Dodge. The thing about running is that you're either faster than your pursuer or you're not. If they are older than you, you're SOL. Which is where hiding comes in. As vampires, we have heightened senses, which make tracking others pretty easy for us. The tricks to successfully hiding are pretty simple and also pretty nasty. Manure, for one. Best thing you could hope for was a big old steaming pile to roll around in and cover your scent. If not excrement, then mud or animal blood was also handy. The more I learned about this method, the more attractive beheading became.

Godric was an excellent teacher, though. He thoroughly discussed each point he made, quizzing me as he went along. Throughout the nights, he would create imaginary scenarios and ask me what I would do. How I should react. What the enemy was hoping for. He would also tell me stories of his past both with and before Eric, when he had relied on one or more of these tactics to stay alive. Throughout the course of his life, vampires had evolved quite a bit. Apparently, when he was first made, we were quite barbaric creatures. Few, if any, had regard for human life and barely more for other vampires. The old 'kill or be killed' mentality was the law of the land.