David
London, 1857
David stared mouth agape at the man in his doorway dripping rainwater onto his floor.
“My word,” Libraean murmured from behind him. “It’s you.”
Danulf attempted a close-lipped smile as he nervously fiddled with his hat.
“If this night reveals one more shock, I think I might finally keel over,” Libraean whispered to David. He lacked his usual cap, his graying hair in disarray around the blunted horns that interrupted his hairline.
“My sentiments exactly,” David agreed.
Libraean placed a hand on his shoulder. “I am headed to the vaults to fetch her some of the leftover pig's blood in my pantry. She still appears calm, but I remember the thirst of the newly transformed and I don’t think we should depend on her placidity for too much longer.”
David nodded, patting his hand in appreciation before the creature slipped through the doorway into the night. David turned his attention back to Dan, resuming his astoundment. “I thought you were dead—I knew it, actually. I folded your arms over your silent heart.”
“Perhaps our guest would appreciate the warmth of a fire in your parlor?” Old Man Jacob appeared behind them. He’d changed out of his robe and into a formal housecoat, his snow-white hair slicked back from his large forehead, accentuating the thickness of his eyebrows. He moved quickly to lift the dampened cloak from a surprised but compliant Dan, draping it on the nearby coat rack.
“I don’t think he minds the cold,” David hinted.
Jacob’s light eyes widened with understanding. “Are all of you vampyres, sir?”
“Let us move to the parlor.” David gestured Danulf fully into his foyer, pulling the door shut behind him with an echoing clang.
Dan’s eyes swept the manor as he followed Jacob, beholding the vaulted ceilings and the twin staircases that crawled up dark papered walls holding dusty black sconces. A few chandeliers glittered in the dim light, the dreary storm outside preventing the illumination that normally radiated through the stained-glass windows above. The house was drenched in shades of burgundy and ornaments of darkly stained wood, which would have given the house a stately facade had they not faded with time.
Jacob entered the parlor first to prepare a fire, regardless of the vampyre presence. The fireplace attempted to dwarf the room, a substantial structure that held its own next to the ornate furniture upholstered in silk, the crimson walls and rugs, and the ostentatious grand piano that sat, unused, in the farthest corner.
The building light offered David the opportunity to observe Dan as he sat awkwardly on the sofa, his oversized legs crossed in front of him. His movements were more graceful than David remembered, despite his bulky frame, his suit made from French silk and tailored to fit his unusual size. His current nervousness was peculiar to David, an expression he would have never attributed to the bold heathen from his memory.
“Shall I bring you...I’m not sure exactly what I should retrieve, sir,” Jacob stumbled, his furrowed eyebrows betraying his perplexity.
“It’s quite alright, Jacob. I’d much rather you attend to our guest upstairs. Once things begin to settle, we can discuss the terms of your employment here.”
“Oh no, sir,” Jacob flustered. “I’m perfectly content to remain your manservant. We do not have to adjust a thing. I will look in on the lady and leave you gentlemen in peace. Please call if you need anything.” He gave a curt bow, his professionalism unaltered by the recent turn of events. As he left, David noticed he’d put on his best shoes.
The parlor was left quiet in his departure, the only sound in the room the crackles and pops of the growing fire as it gradually consumed the fresh logs. The two immortals sat across from each other in silent, mutual observation.
Danulf managed to maintain the feral prowess he once had in his eyes, their deep blue intensifying the longer he stared at David. His skin had somehow managed to grow tan and his silvery hair was free of its former ratted braids, leaving behind thick, wiry strands that swept freely across his forehead and down below his ears. Both his mustache and beard were kept low, the bulk of his tattoos concealed behind his high collar and cravat, the rich blue and grey silks of his suit boasting refinery and high class.
The observation reminded David he’d not yet changed out of the waistcoat and trousers of his own three-piece suit, which he had been wearing for several days now. He smoothed his wrinkled pants awkwardly as he finally broke the silence. “You look so different.”
Dan laughed, revealing a flash of gold and silver crowns, the one thing David remembered of him that hadn’t changed. “I’ve had to blend in for survival purposes, but rest assured, I can still behead a man with my bare hands if need be.”
David chuckled, delighted the tension melted away. “I cannot believe you are still alive.”
His expression turned grim. “Much has transpired since that day. Simply put, what you saw on the battlefield was real, but somehow, Dragos and I were brought back to life shortly after.”
“How?”
“I’m not exactly certain,” Dan admitted. “I ran into him many years later, after being trapped in my wolf state for nearly just as long.”
David leaned back in his chair. “I had no idea.”
“I did attempt to seek you out after my time as a mindless beast scouring the Carpathian Mountains, but there were other things distracting me.” Dan’s voice lowered, taking on a hint of regret. “But that is a story for another evening. I’m here to take you back with me to France, where I believe Lucius is hiding.”
“You plan to leave?” A soft voice interjected from the hallway.
David turned to see his lover in the doorway, radiant with her newly endowed immortal life. The sickly lady of the night he’d met days ago had been transformed by Libraean’s blood, her body the perfect home for his beloved Morrigan. She stood taller than most women, reaching just under David’s nose when they embraced, lithe underneath a fresh nightgown Jacob must have found her. Her raven hair spilled down her shoulders, shocking against her pale, angular face, as it simultaneously highlighted Morrigan’s azure eyes. It took everything for him to remain seated, overwhelmed by the desire to scoop her into his arms.
“This is your lover,” Dan stated, rather than asked.
“Oh yes, forgive me, I’d forgotten that you never met. Danulf, this is...well, we’ve discovered she is the Morrigan reincarnated, but I failed to learn her mortal name.” David looked at her sheepishly.
“My given name was Liliana, though I suppose it doesn’t matter now.”
“We have had a rather tumultuous evening,” David attempted to explain.
“As much as I would love to catch up, it’s urgent that we leave for France,” Dan pressed.
David frowned. “How do you know that he has returned?”
Morrigan drifted towards the loveseat where David sat, settling herself next to him. The faintest hint of cedarwood wafted from her hair. “Who has returned?”
“Lucius has found his way back to Earth,” David told her as he took her hand.
Morrigan did not appear surprised. On the contrary, she looked thoughtful, calmly gazing out the window before snapping her eyes back towards Dan. “Is that why I have returned?”
“All I know is that Lucius arrived on this earth in mortal form in seventeen forty to a family of aristocrats, only to be raised later by Dragos and a vampyress who calls herself Angelique. Around seventeen seventy-six, he discovered a way to switch bodies with King Louis XVI, up until the Revolution when he abandoned the ruse. He has been in hiding ever since. He is, as you may have guessed, immortal once again.”
“He’s been masquerading as the bloody King of France, and I haven’t known?” David cried out, unable to hold back his bewilderment. “Where is the Council? Why is there no communication between creatures? How is he immortal if Libraean and I were the only blood drinkers left, besides you? Are there more of us still?”
Morrigan squeezed his hand, calming him.
“Again, I regret being unable to find you until now,” Dan restated, his expression genuinely apologetic.
David leaned back in his seat, grateful for Morrigan’s presence. He suddenly felt very tired, as if the series of revelations in one evening finally proved to be too much.
“We need to rest,” Morrigan asserted, raising her hand as Dan tried to protest. “You have traveled many hours to reach us. I fell asleep last night a dying woman and woke up this morning a blood drinker. Libraean and Gabriel have just discovered each other after eons apart and David has not slept soundly for weeks. We can discuss this all tomorrow, refreshed.”
Remarkably, Dan did not argue.
Old Man Jacob appeared in the doorway. “Forgive my interruption, sir, but did you arrive by coach?” he asked Danulf.
“I paid a coachman to deliver me here,” he replied as he rose to his feet. “My effects are at a hotel in the city.”
“We can put you in the southern guest room,” Jacob decided. “I’m afraid the main guest room is still unkempt, but there is spare clothing in the south bedroom’s wardrobe, as well as house slippers and a shaving sink.”
“That would be fine, thank you.” Dan nodded.
A thought suddenly occurred to David. “Where is Libraean?” he asked Jacob.
“I’m afraid he still needs time to digest all that has transpired,” he explained, a touch of sadness in his voice. “He has locked himself in your study with his books.”
“Please tell him that he’s staying in the manor tonight. I don’t feel comfortable with him alone in the vaults now that I know Lucius is back. Perhaps you should do the same. I admit I’m being overly cautious, but I’d feel better knowing we are all under one roof.”
“Yes, sir.” Jacob nodded. “I only need to grab a few things from my residence after I’ve gotten everyone settled.”
“Please, Gabriel, call me David.”
“Only if you continue to call me Jacob. I have not been in my other form for many years, and I’ve grown quite used to my human name.”
“Agreed.”
“I will tell him, Mr. David,” Jacob said, still unwilling to drop formalities, oblivious to David’s subsequent sigh. “And the lady?”
David flustered, unsure of how to respond. He attempted to answer the question and recover from his embarrassment while he tried to ignore Dan’s amused expression.
“I will stay in the master bedroom,” Morrigan spoke up, relieving him of his awkwardness.
“Very well,” Jacob nodded. “I’ll leave you two in peace, and I will show Mr…?”
“Daniel. But you can call me Dan.”
“I will show Mr. Daniel to his room, then deliver Libraean the news,” Jacob declared, motioning for Dan to follow him. The two men disappeared into the shadows, Dan’s considerable frame towering over the short statured man as he led him down the hall.
David was alone with Morrigan at last, a sensation of relief settling across his shoulders. He faced her, taking her hands in his. “Are you feeling alright?” he asked her, gently. “Do you need blood?”
“Strangely, I feel quite sated with the animal blood Libraean brought me,” she replied. “I remember you describing an insatiable thirst when one turns, but I do not seem to be suffering from it.”
“It may be because he was the one to turn you,” David speculated aloud. “He seems to be another sort of creature altogether, one driven more by compassion than destruction.”
“In any case, I only need rest and perhaps some proper clothing in the near future.” She drew his attention to her nightgown.
“I will go into town for you tomorrow,” he assured her.
“Lovely.” She smiled, the warmth lighting up her eyes. He barely recognized the sickly woman he’d brought home from the Eastern Tavern days before, her cheeks now flushed with radiance, her lips ripe and plump like raspberries. Save for her ghostly pale skin, Libraean’s blood had improved her physicality, rather than leaving her with the sickly presentation common in the immortal.
“Are you going to show me to your room?” she asked.
Again, David was struck with an odd sort of nervousness. He’d gone from being completely alone to having a house full of creatures, he hadn’t changed his clothing for days, he wasn’t sure what state he’d left his bedroom, and he certainly hadn’t anticipated being reunited with his aeonian inamorata. He pushed the trepidation aside, retrieving a solitary candle holder and gesturing for her to follow him. He led her up the west wing steps to the second floor, where the stained-glass windows were the most brilliant in the daytime. In the darkness, they seemed more eerie than majestic as the gruesome scenes of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion picked up the flickering candlelight from his meager flame.
They traveled down a long, scantily lit corridor, dusted with cobwebs, to the end, where a door opened to a suite of rooms. Contained within the spacious master bedroom was a barely used four poster bed, mahogany desk, and a couch and loveseat arrangement around a cold, empty fireplace. An annexed room served as a private bathing area. Russet browns and evergreens furnished its entirety, dark emerald wallpaper crawling up the sides to greet stained wood ceilings etched into designs. He was grateful Jacob had ensured the room’s cleanliness in his absence, the typical coat of dust that covered his furnishings removed. He’d even made up the bed with clean linens and wool blankets.
“It’s lovely,” Morrigan assured him, noticing his worried expression.
“I just cannot believe you are really here,” David admitted. “I honestly don’t know what to do.”
She approached him, gently removing his grip from the candleholder and setting it on a nearby table. Then she kissed him, the aroma of fallen leaves and bonfires assaulting his senses, the familiarity of her taste rendering him lightheaded. He forced his legs to stay firmly planted as he wrapped his arms around her waist, enjoying the conflicting sensations of kissing a soul he knew and caressing a body he didn’t. “Quite a different body than I remember,” he murmured through kisses.
She laughed and mischievously placed his hands on her upper curves. “It suits me, though I’m not sure I shall ever get used to these.”
His body responded with immediate desire. “As much as it pains me to let go of you,” he said as he pulled away, his voice shaking, “I must insist on taking a bath. These past few hours have me feeling as though I’ve been hurdled through a windstorm.”
“Speaking of such, it seems you have maintained your powers,” Morrigan remarked, gesturing out the window where the storm was now tossing the trees.
“Amazing,” he remarked, beholding the tempest building outside. “I have not used them in centuries.”
She slipped her hand into his. “A bath might do us both well,” she purred, pulling his attention back to her.
David wasted no time in preparing it, grateful temperature was not of importance to either of them, the cool water kept in jugs against the bathroom wall sufficient to fill the large porcelain tub. He lost time in her embrace, floating in and out of consciousness as they explored each other’s bodies for the first time, moving from bath, to bed, to floor, to couch, to bath again. He felt immersed in an impossible dream. For so long he had pined for her, aching to be reunited, to look into her eyes and feel the softness of her skin. It was as if time no longer had meaning, measured only in the moments of breath he took in between kissing her.
At some point, his eyes had finally closed, then drifted open to behold her asleep next to him, her creamy white skin glowing in the beams of moonlight that streamed through the window. Moist, cool air drifted through the room, threatening to extinguish the dwindled fire. The storm had ended, finally satisfied.
He pulled her body closer to his as he put together his thoughts, his befuddled mind clear at last. Dan was alive and Lucius had returned. He wondered if Anubis had been deceived by him again. But how could he have achieved such a feat without the aid of Isis and her magic? When he rose to Earth the first time, becoming the immortal blood drinker Lucius, it was because of her power. Since that time, her soul had long been fragmented, the bulk of her magic taken by Morrigan when she abandoned them in Romania, returning her soul to the astral plane. How had Lucius managed to come back to earth?
David realized he’d spun his mind beyond the point of additional rest. He gently rolled Morrigan back on her side, draping one of the blankets over her before slipping out from underneath them. He found his housecoat and slippers, fumbling around the messy room for a cigarette and a match. He retrieved them both and used the tiny flame to illuminate the lamp he kept at his bedside. It immediately bathed the room in muted beige light.
The halls of the manor were quiet, its visitors appearing to be asleep. His footsteps, though soft, seemed to echo as he walked, contorted shadows following him along the walls. He’d only met the Lardone ghosts a few times since he moved into the manor, the frail daughter who died from scarlet fever and the son who’d fallen from the third floor balcony in a drunken stupor. He knew there were more lurking about, but they kept to themselves, and he wondered how they were taking the sudden influx of visitors into their home.
His eyes caught a sliver of light beneath the door of his study and he moved closer, entering to witness Libraean seated at his desk, surrounded by an alarming array of books and manuscripts piled high around him. He didn’t notice David enter, continuing to rapidly scratch his quill against the paper with feverish concentration.
“Trouble sleeping?” David interrupted softly.
Libraean peered up over his glasses, the folds around his eyes pronounced with stress. He threw them off to rub his eyes. “I cannot believe any of this is really happening.”
David sat down across from him, gingerly placing his lamp on the only clean spot on the desk, hoping the oil wouldn’t upset any parchment. “I know what you mean,” he sighed.
“Let alone Gabriel slumbering underneath the same roof as ours. Gabriel, of all creatures!”
“Did you have a chance to speak with him?” David asked him carefully. The look of surprise on Libraean’s face after discovering that David’s manservant was a reincarnation of his estranged former lover was enough to provoke David into approaching the topic lightly.
“Not more than a few words,” Libraean replied, the tone of his voice revealing his continued hostility towards Gabriel. “I smell his humanity when he is near, and it makes it difficult for me to think clearly. I feel I’m going mad, actually, which is why I’ve decided to isolate and catch up on the work that soothes me.”
David frowned, immediately concerned. “You are craving blood, Libraean. You haven’t had the human variety for many years, but you awoke the craving when you turned Morrigan. We should go hunting.”
“For humans?” Libraean was horrified.
“Well, I was referring to game, but there are humans who willingly give their blood near the end of their lives, alleviating us of any wrongdoing. I have indulged myself in such situations once or twice since we moved to London. Or, as you told me many years ago, we can sample human blood without having to kill them.”
“I cannot do as you do, David. I am trying to right my wrongs, not indulge in loopholes…though I suppose that really doesn’t matter now.” He looked wistfully out of the darkened windowpanes before resuming his furious scribbling.
David slapped his hand down on the desk. “Libraean, you need to eat.”
“Am I interrupting?” Dan’s towering frame appeared in the doorway, observing their interaction with lifted eyebrows.
“Hello.” David straightened his crouched position. “Are you unable to sleep as well?”
“My body would love nothing more, yet my mind will not allow it,” Dan agreed. He’d donned a simple housecoat over a set of silken pajamas, the inadequate hem of his pants rising high above his shoes. It seemed the guest slippers were too small for him to even bother. Regardless, however mismatched his appearance, it did little to rob him of his intimidating presence.
“Please, come in,” Libraean offered. “I must warn you, though, I am going to have real difficulty holding in all the questions I’m desperate to ask you. Especially with my books out.”
Dan gave a chuckle. “I understand. I overheard someone talking about hunting. Perhaps we could have a meal before we converse? I have not fed much myself, being preoccupied with my arrival.”
Libraean flinched. “I do not eat humans,” he maintained.
“I have not had an English fox in quite some time.” Dan shrugged.
“Should I wake Morrigan?” David wondered aloud, as he rose from his chair.
“It might be best to let her rest,” Libraean suggested mildly, packing up his desk and securing the top of his ink bottle. “In fact, let’s not tell Gabriel we are leaving either.”
“That might be difficult if we leave out the front door,” Dan pointed out.
“Oh, that shouldn’t be a problem,” Libraean nodded towards the elongated windows of the study, opened to the cool breeze.
David smiled at Dan. “When is the last time you’ve flown?”
Crisp and biting cold, the wind served as a reminder that winter approached. The late autumn woods had proven quite the hunter’s arena as Dan unintentionally reminded David of the vicious creature he was, taking down two full grown bucks and an aged bear, which he promptly shared with a very pale, but still very hungry, Libraean. Although David’s thoughts centered around Morrigan more than hunting, he found and enjoyed a red fox, the meal proving good for them all. They strolled back towards the manor in good spirits, and for a moment, David forgot the impending doom of Lucius’s return.
They reached the manor gates and headed up the cobblestone drive to find Jacob at the front steps, dressed in his riding cloak and hat, and wringing his hands. It was hard for David to see him any differently than the wizened gentleman he’d discovered at the Agency, whom his coworkers had jokingly referred to as “Old Man,” yet Libraean remembered the archangel inside and continued to grow tense each time he was around.
“Jacob, what is it?” David asked, concerned by his trepidation.
Jacob pulled off his hat, leaving his thick white hair unkempt. “She has disappeared, sir,” he said anxiously. “I searched all over the house, but it appears she left shortly after you did, under my notice.”
David’s chest seized up in alarm. He had just found her—how could he have let her slip out of his grasp?
“Don’t worry, we will find her,” Dan assured him, noticing his expression and placing a sizable hand on his shoulder. “We would do best to split up. There are only a few hours left before sunrise.”
“I will help,” Libraean offered, fresh color in his weathered face.
The galloping of a horse rudely interrupted their plans, its hooves thundering down the narrow dirt path that led up to the manor. It came in through the gate, left carelessly ajar, and as it drew closer, David was surprised to recognize one of his own mares. The rider brought the horse to a halt and slipped easily from astride it, revealing with a swish of black skirts that, although dressed in a man’s riding cloak, she was, in fact, a woman. She pulled off a man’s riding cap to reveal coils of recently shorn, ebony hair that sprang up immediately once it was released.
“Morrigan,” David exhaled in relief.
Beneath the billowing black cloak, she wore mismatched mourning clothes, black skirts hanging loose about her long legs without a cage to flare them, her high collared black shirt opened low and cinched together with a black corset. Black heeled boots peeked out as she walked forward.
“I would like you all to join me in the parlor,” she said immediately, “and I should hope not to hear one word regarding my excursion, as I wasn’t invited to partake in the boys-only hunting trip.” She strode past them, but her mood was more playful than genuinely upset.
“Well, at least she’s returned safe,” Jacob said mildly, following her through the front door.
Gratitude washed over David, grateful that she had simply gone into town and back, and grateful she was showing glimpses of the goddess he’d once known and loved.
He looked back at Dan, noticing that a shadow of grief had passed over him. “She reminds me of someone I once knew,” he explained with a forced smile, heading inside.
Jacob had already ensured all the curtains were drawn in anticipation of approaching daylight and was now hanging up the cloaks being removed all around him. Libraean instinctively moved forward to assist, then caught himself, faltering as Jacob noticed the slight and turned towards him, lifting the folded jacket from his arm with a shy smile.
“I would like you both to join us,” David requested as he observed their interaction.
“Shall I grab tea?” Jacob asked, forgetting once more whose company he was in.
“We will need something a bit stronger if she wants to discuss what I think she does,” Dan suggested over his shoulder as he headed into the room.
“Ah, yes, you all drink…yes,” Jacob nodded. “I will grab tainted brandy.”
Libraean sighed as he watched him disappear down the hall. “He does not wish to stop playing manservant, I see.”
“Give him time,” David said. “He is the only human among us and quite a lot has transpired since the night before last. I believe continuing his normal routine is comforting to him.”
“Perhaps you’re right,” he sniffed. “It’s none of my business, anyway.”
The two entered the parlor to observe Morrigan draped across the loveseat in front of the fire, the seat she preferred when David first brought her home. Her arm was stretched along the back, one leg curled under her as she studied them all, her eyes settling on Libraean. Her face softened in wonderment. “So, you are my son?”
Libraean startled for a moment before nodding. “Yes, in another lifetime… yes.”
“My memories have been slowly coming back to me, and your face grows familiar,” she explained as she rose to her feet. She approached him, taking both of his hands in hers. “Thank you for saving my life.”
Libraean blushed. “There is no need to thank me, madame. I am quite glad you’ve returned home to David, though we still don’t know the reason why. From what I’ve been told, you did leave quite definitively.”
“Let us all sit,” she suggested.
The group settled around the parlor, Morrigan resuming her place on the loveseat. Jacob returned with a few bottles of blood-infused brandy and drinking glasses on a tray, which he set on the low table near the couches. David motioned for him to sit.
Morrigan waited until all was still before she spoke. “As I mentioned, memories have been floating back to me in gradual pieces. From what I can recall, which was confirmed when David told me his story, I took Hekate’s power with me to the Underworld after she died. That would explain the abilities I had as a mortal, being able to hear thoughts when I focused or watching my emotions pull rain from the sky.” Her eyes found the window. “I can remember when I left earth the last time, jumping from the towers of our Wallachian castle to certain death, yet I cannot seem to recall what happened from that point until my mortal birth. I need to know why I’ve returned, when I swore to those I cared for most that I never would.” Her eyes swept across the room to meet Dan’s. “Maybe you can offer some assistance in these matters.”
“Yes,” David agreed, though her words pulled at his stomach. A part of him hoped she’d returned for him. “How is Lucius back on earth? We have not had any communication from the Otherworlds for centuries. Libraean and I were convinced we were the only two creatures left.”
“That is because the Council and most of the gods are dead,” Dan sighed.
“Wait,” Libraean interrupted before anyone could react. He flew from the room, returning with an armful of books, parchment, quills, and several ink bottles. He dropped them all onto the neglected grand piano in the corner, sending up a cloud of dust. He pulled up a table and chair and fumbled about his supplies, setting up an impromptu writing station that he swiftly sat behind. He adjusted his glasses, smoothing out the paper before him, and dipping the quill in the ink. He stared at Dan above his frames. “Continue.”
Dan cleared his throat, uncrossing his legs so he could help himself to David’s box of cigarettes. The smoke from its freshly lit paper wound through the air as all eyes rested on him. “I suppose I should explain how I survived the Night War.”
“No,” Morrigan interrupted him with a wave of her hand. “Some of us have no idea who you are. Start from the beginning.”
Dan raised his eyebrows, clearing his throat once more. “Well, then, I will start from the beginning.”