Brightening White Flowers

20. Completing the Rite

I can tell that nerves are plaguing her as her leg closest to me bounces a little, "I am ready to finish the ritual. What do we do?"

I move next to her then tilt her head up by pushing up on her chin and give her a waning smile, "Just follow my lead."

She nods jerkily and I look through my memories of the oldest of vampire rites, starting with the dream of my mother and I, "You who have drank of my blood and tasted a glimpse of immortality, will you accept the monster in all of us and join the covenant?" As the words spill from my lips my inner Soul seems to hover there at the edge of consciousness, waiting for something.

"Yes," she breathes out.

I take my knife and cut from my fingertip on my index finger down to where it meets my palms. Her mouth drops open slightly as the smell of my blood permeates the air. I draw my bloody index finger along her gums from canine to canine on the bottom part of her jaw. In moments the canines lengthen and sharpen. They look just like a vampire's fangs when they are done.

"Then drink the blood of your Master and Sire once again."

Roze moves the short distance between us bracing herself on my thighs as she angles her fangs along the jugular vein. She hesitates for only a second before biting and sliding her fangs into my neck. It takes all of my willpower to not move. Unlike other bites this one hurts. My neck throbs each time she sucks on the skin. The pain gets to be so bad that I end up involuntarily hissing. It is extremely uncomfortable but I do manage to speak, even if it is in a croaked whisper, "Stop."

Surprisingly Roze stops right as the word leaves my lips. As she pulls away I notice the blood running down her chin. She is a messy feeder. We stare at each other for a few moments then her eyes droop. "Rest now, Roze. I will clean you up."

She nods as she slowly lays down on the sleeping mat partially curled up on her side. I dig through my pack and grab a spare black shirt to carefully clean the wet blood from her chin. It is quick work. After all of that I lay down next to her once more but this time sleep is quick to envelop me.

*****

I am the first to wake on this fourth day, like every other day before. I sigh silently as I roll onto my side to look at Roze. Not a second later Davian speaks, "Are you awake, Karri?" Maybe I was not the first one awake.

I sit up and lean back on my elbows to see him already prepared to get moving again and leaning against the wall a ways from Hana but also away from me and Roze. "Hana... she explained some things to me. That when a child falls to the Hunger they are never punished or blamed. She said for children the hunger to feed feels the same as the hunger for food. That's why it is up to their guardian to monitor them," he stops speaking and looks at me.

I nod for confirmation, we are all told at some point that the hunger we feel is for blood and not normal sustenance.

He frowns, "Who was blamed for it then?"

I sigh and sit myself up completely by leaning against the wall opposite him. It feels like we may never be on the same side, "My father. Tennan ruled that his inattention to me caused the incident but that he had already suffered enough from the severing of the Bond when Mother died."

Davian snorts, "So nobody was punished?"

I hesitate a second before I answer and his eyes narrow when he realizes it, "Not directly no... my father -" I sigh and slump forward. "My father had to watch though as Tennan had me form a partial bond with Kamina."

His narrowed eyes change to allow curiosity to become apparent.

I find myself sharing the information because of some reason, "She is my aunt and a partial bond can be very dangerous. Tennan thought it would be best though since it would tell her when the inner Soul was rising or I had not been feeding regularly."