Over the next fortnight Caleb, Anna and to Eric’s surprise Jeremy made frequent visits. Caleb would help mostly with his studies that Vincent was happy to see excel since Eric had nothing else to do while confined to the cabin. The speed at which Eric was progressing also pushed Caleb who Eric found hated to be second best at anything. Together they covered two months worth of work in those two weeks. Vincent even said that he could magically lock them in the cabin for a longer time so that they could finish their apprentice training in the next week. After two full weeks trapped in the cabin though was enough for Eric, he just wanted back outside.
Jeremy mostly came on his guard duties and talked about live as a vampire and a lot about Alexander. Apparently a vampire is able to send and receive messages through blood and that’s how he and his brother were keeping in touch. Jeremy was great company when you forgot what he was and then without realising it Eric blurted out a question that he had been die-ing to ask. “How do you walk in the sun?”
For a while Jeremy just looked at Eric, then he started to answer “That’s a piece of over exaggerated information that one vampire let slip years ago. Vampires don’t burst into flames in the sun or skin burns like everyone else but thanks to our fast healing attributes we can get really exhausted. Garlic’s a myth too, that one mad vampire made up to lure want-a-be slayers into his fort during the darker days, stakes on the other hand is completely true, but it has to be wood that’s the only thing that can fatally wound vampires, something about the minerals in the wood prevents us from healing.” He finished “Don’t tell anyone I told you that” Jeremy added fear sparking in his eyes for less than a second.
“Ok” Eric replied unsure of Jeremy’s sudden reaction “so how many vampires are there?”
“Twenty-two” Jeremy answered placing his elbows on the table and rubbing his hands through his hair.
“That’s all” exclaimed Eric “I read there used to be hundreds”
“Someone’s been killing us off” Jeremy cut in “there’s a link between each and every vampire, sometimes when I sleep I can see what some of the others are at and no matter what I’m doing I can always feel when one has died. It is like we’re all tethered together by invisible ropes.” Jeremy paused for a while, withdrawn into himself remembering some horror Eric was unaware of “when one of us dies the rope disappears”
At that moment Vincent had walked in and Jeremy bid them good night “it has been a while since I last feed and the Haunt have been quite for a while now, so I shall see you at a later date Eric. Good night Vincent”. Again Jeremy left the house like a ghost travelling noiselessly with the wind.
The visits from Anna were the ones Eric looked forward to more than the others however. She would arrive and knock on the door with three rasps in time with the beats of Eric’s heart. Her hair was tied back now into a braided ponytail hanging over her shoulder, her blue eyes the size of the moon and her soft lips a scarlet red. At the start Eric couldn’t answer the door without his heart pounding against his chest drowning out all other sounds, when he opened it he would always find a new way to embarrass himself without fail causing Anna to laugh. For the most part they sat and talked, about what, Eric couldn’t really remember but always gave her his full attention.
One day as the night got older and cold treated to freeze the world outside under a cape of snow. They lay in front of the fire in his room on top of the quilt he threw down on the ground for them to lie on. She moved in a little closer and placed her head on his chest, instinctively Eric wrapped his arms around her. For a while they just lay there talking about the arena, Anna’s family, mostly her younger sister, Vincent, then without warning she wriggled up to his height and kissed him.
Her lips were soft and warm against his. Her hands rested against his chest and Eric let his wonder through her hair and around her back to keep her close and ensure no harm could fall on her. When they parted lips Anne with her deep sapphire blue eyes whispered to him “I couldn’t wait for you to make the first move any longer”. In response Eric cupped her head in his hands and kissed her again.
Since that night they spent most of the time Anna came over kissing. “You know out of all the girls in Tuscin you’re the only one I really noticed, and Georgia but that’s only because she nearly bashed my skull in with her hammer in the arena.” Eric said.
“Really?”Smiled Anna. “Guess I don’t have to worry about you running off on me then.”
“Never” Eric whispered leaning and kissing her on the check.
“Eric! Eric!”
The bedroom door flew open and Caleb burst into the room. His face red and breathing heavily supporting himself against the wall. “Eric quick you have to hurry Vin...” Caleb cut off mid sentence when he seen Anna lying against Eric.
“Vincent what; Caleb?” Anna said, keeping her eyes on him the whole time.
Straightening up until he stood as tall as he could Caleb finished his sentence in a more stiff voice “Vincent said that he needed to see you now! Downstairs.”
“What is it?” Eric asked
“Don’t know, he wants to tell you in person” Caleb said leaving Eric’s bedroom.
Eric was at the door before he realised he had forgotten Anna. “Coming or not, Annabel” Eric said foundly using Anna’s full name that only her parents and sister used, because she prefers her friends call her Anna; but her family couldn't break the habit of calling her by her full name.
Lifting a pillow she throws it with the same precision that she can fire a bow. The pillow hit Eric square on the head giving him a face full of feathers before Anna ran round him, catching his hand in hers, twilling him round and started leading the way to the study giggling.
The study was quiet and when Eric and Anna entered the room, Vincent looked at Eric as though he was about to hand him a death sentence. “Eric I think I might have found something that explains the symptoms you have been showing.” Vincent says sliding a book across the study table his features unreadable.
At the top left hand side of the book a sketch of a large black wolf, similar to that of the Haunt walking around it, except it is standing on its hind quarters and its arms are bent in the fashion of a humans. The name of the animal shown is scripted above it in large curving sweeps, Werewolf.
It takes a while for the information to sink in but there’s no denying it, all the tell tale clues are there. The fear, for wolf’s bane and how it affects a werewolf the same as the Haunt. The craving for raw meat and blood, the blackouts at nights the person processing the disease can have, if around too much blood when the sun sets, the inability for Dokumailar to read a werewolves thoughts and strengths and the nightmares! No, visions that they can have in their sleep of what other werewolves are at.
Upon reading this Eric wonders if he is able to feel when other werewolves die, like Jeremy can with vampires. If he is able, the four words bounce around in his head. This must be the fastest anyone’s been through the seven stages of grief. Eric mused sinking into acceptance.
“This can’t be right” Anna said in complete hysterics.
“There is no other explanation for the way the wolf’s bane burnt Eric, or the fact that I haven’t been able to hear his thoughts since he woke from his coma.” Vincent said giving a questioning look at the book and then Eric.
Eric knows what he’s asking but does not want to say it in front of Anna. So when she buries her head into him, and starts crying mumbling that they can deal with it, if it is true, Eric gives Vincent a quick nod to indicate that he has had some of the other symptoms. For the first time Eric curses the protection the Haunt bite has built around his mind that prevent Eric from telling Vincent telepathically.
For the next hour Anna argued that there has to be something Vincent missed another more logical justification for the way the wolf’s bane burnt his hand and that Vincent was to proud to admit that one of his students had mastered the power of the mind quicker than he could. Eric realiseing that she is just angry at the Haunt and now Vincent for the state he is now in. Well at least she’s passed denial and guilt.
“What’s the plan, Vincent?” said Eric “that is why you waited to tell me.” He finished realising that is why Vincent had been so eager for Eric to pick up the wolfs bane, testing his theory.
“What?” replied Vincent, feigning innocence.
“You already thought I was a werewolf you just wanted time to develop a plan” Eric continued.
“You’re quicker than most your age, Eric” Vincent grinned
“The slavers in Yamsa helped me a bit with that” Eric snapped anger now boiling the blood coursing through his veins. No longer did Eric want to wait for the answers but dig them up no matter the consequences.
“Eric calm down” Anna said rubbing his arm.
“You’re plan what is it” brawled Eric steeping closer to Vincent.
“If you’re so eager Eric open the box.” Vincent said coolly. Up till now the small decorative wooden box near Caleb hadn’t even seemed important enough to be acknowledged among the other clutter Vincent had gathered connected to the word werewolf, that Eric had completely over looked it.
“Fine” Eric said lifting the box. The coarse sides of the wooden casing brushed against Eric’s fingers, the swirling symbols carved into it worn down by age. A bronze eagle clasp holding the lid closed. Flipping the clasp up Eric slid the box open and there laden gentle on a blue velvet cloth sat a purple flower.
The sight of the wolfs bane dosed out all of the anger burning inside Eric and planted a supernatural fear in his gut, which frightened to blossom into a towering flower and choke the very last breath out of him.
“You asked me what my plan was and this is it” said Vincent picking up the flower.
“You want to kill me” Eric said backing away tripping over the chair behind him. This couldn’t be right, the idea seemed to drastic from Eric’s point of view but at the minute all logic failed him.
“It’s alright Eric; you know we wouldn’t do anything like that” spoke Caleb for the first time “we figure that wolfs bane is an illness in a physical from, for werewolves, and like for all illnesses you should be able to build up an immune system to it, or that’s what we can gather from the text.
“Don’t believe everything you read” retorted Eric looking towards the door.
“Eric the whole town will be covered in this flower come morning and if the villages become suspicious and gods know what some people will think” said Caleb “they will hunt you out the walls before you know it, and if it happens at night we don’t know how you will react.” He finished an edge to his voice.
Eric stared at them then the door “let them run me out of town I’m not going anywhere near that wolfs bane.”
“Eric it’s only a flower, I’ll be here the entire time don’t panic.” Included Anna
Eric held his tongue now not wanting to upset her further but he wasn’t going to allow them to approach him with the flower. Allowing instinct to take over he leapt over the table and swung the door wide. The next moment Eric felt two hands twist his head at an awkward angle and the rest of his body no longer felt as though it was there. Glancing down Eric saw the rest of his body fall limp as Jeremy caught him. “So what did I miss?” he said in a cavalier manner.
“You killed him” Anna screamed falling down beside Eric.
“I only broke his neck.” Jeremy answered as if it was obvious “now let’s get him up to his room before the spine fully repairs you don’t want him to have look to his right all his live do you”. Scooping up Eric’s body Jeremy had him placed in bed and repositioned his head before the others reached the bottom of the stairs.
Vincent and Caleb entered the room but Anna never followed.
“Caleb, get to the other side of the bed and start enchanting the bed to stop Eric from moving. Jeremy bring up the wolfs bane and tell Anna, no matter what she hears, to not come into the room.”
Silently Vincent and Caleb moved round the bed ensuring that Eric would remain paralyzed after his neck had healed. Jeremy returned in a matter of minutes holding nine of the purples from the wolfs bane. “That should do.” Vincent said “Three petals each, you to focus on his hands, I’ll look after his head. All we have to do is brush the petals over his skin for a minute and take forty second pauses in between. Let’s start.”
“Sorry Eric” said Caleb not looking him in the eye.
“Ye sorry kido, but if Vincent says it’s the only way to keep you safe we have to trust him” finished Jeremy brushing the wolfs bane over Eric’s palm; Eric’s pleading eyes locked with his.
The next hours passed in a blurred pain with Eric’s skin burning and healing in continues cycles, wisps of smoke rising of his body in rhythm with the strokes of the petals. No one spoke, though Eric found himself unable to hold the silence screaming and pleading with his tortures to stop their relentless attack against his body. When that failed he cried out for Anne begging her to rescue him. She never showed her face but Eric knew she could hear him so could most of the other villagers in Tuscin, no Vincent would have sound proofed the cabin to the outside world.
The sound of the cabin door slamming shut during one of the forty second reprieves, told all in the room that Anna could no longer stand to hear Eric calling her for help, so he returned to a half-hearted plead with Caleb, Jeremy and Vincent.
The longer the three continued along the process the less pain Eric began to fell but more than one blister had started to form on his hands. Then, the pain finally stopped even if small wisps still followed the strokes of wolfs bane.
“Wait, Eric” Caleb looked at his friend for the first time since entering the room “are you alright?”
Still fuming from the pain he endured Eric tried nodding his head to tell him he was ok rather than speak directly to them, but the enchantment currently placed on him denied even that. Trying to speak Eric found his throat hors and only managed a grunt.
“He’s still conscious” said Vincent
“And he’s stopped screaming” added Caleb happy.
“So it worked?” said Jeremy
“It worked” wheezed Eric.
Vincent brushed the petals once more down Eric’s face across his upper chest and down both his arms and then to the centre of his stomach.
“Stop, stoop stop” cried Eric fearing another hour of agony. I can’t do this any more.
“Don’t cry kido, were stopping now” interjected Jeremy crabbing Vincent’s hand and forcing it away from his bear skin. “Right”
“Yes that is enough for one night” said Vincent “how about we get you something to eat and get a bath ready for you”
“I got to tell Anna that it worked on the parts we focused on.” Caleb said running down the stairs. That was the first piece of the conversation Eric was pleased to hear all night. I can do this for Anna.
Jeremy decided to stay the night and make sure Eric was alright, but Eric couldn’t help but think it was to make sure he didn’t turn homicidal and kill Vincent or something. The meal looked great venison, wild mushrooms and potatoes dressed in a cream sauce, though Eric couldn’t make himself eat more than a fifth of what Vincent had gave him. Retiring for the night Eric skipped the bath and drifted straight off to sleep when he reached the bed he had been screaming in moments earlier.
********
With morning arose new problems the streets of Tuscin were now roofed with wolfs bane and the water supply also streamed through patches of the plant in a hope that if the minerals of the plant were in the villagers’ systems it would act as an extra defence against the Haunt. To Eric’s relief Vincent and Jeremy had left the tub filled with the water from the night before and even with its freezing temperature, he was pleased it contained no trace of wolfs bane.
At breakfast not much was said but Eric knew what they were thinking, so he decided to bring it up first “When’s the next spa appointment?” he said lightly.
“Tonight if possible.” Answered Vincent “I thought we might get your stomach and back done, is that alright?”
After seeing how fast the village had progressed in a night Eric decided to submit to the measures necessary, to avoid suspicion and a soon followed exile, by giving Vincent a curt nod to indicate yes.
A rasp on the door stopped the conversation from continuing. Standing Vincent made his way to the door and opened it. Waiting at the door stood a group of ten men and woman dressed in fine clothes and others in slightly more ragged and dulled clothes, all of them carried the same look of anxiety.
“May we come in, this wolfs bane is putting us all, a bit on edge.” said the man at the front of the group.
“Who, may I ask are you?” asked Vincent
“Sorry forgot to introduce myself, I’m Malcolm and I suppose you could call my friends here my pack” answered the man looking over Vincent shoulder at Eric “we’re like you, Eric, and we thought we should show you some tricks of the trade as it were.”