Page 24

24

FELIX

Vampirism changes one’s perception of the world in ways that academic study could never prepare me for.

Three days after my turning, I sit in the library, surrounded by stacks of ancient texts, attempting to focus on my research despite the constant barrage of new sensations. Every sound is amplified. The scratch of paper as I turn a page, the distant conversation of students three floors down, the steady rhythm of heartbeats throughout the building. The scent of old books mingled with the tang of blood from somewhere. I’m in the dark vampire section, right on the top floor. The black velvet curtains are pulled tight against the weak winter sunlight, and I wonder again if I can withstand it. Even for a short while. I can’t see myself being much good when the Blood Queen finally shows her hand if I can only be around at night.

The words on the page before me, once requiring careful study, now imprint themselves in my memory with a single glance.

Since the ritual that destroyed Mashtar, I’ve devoted every waking moment to researching the Blood Queen’s power. The transfer of whatever energy it was to Gaida during Mashtar’s destruction concerns me. It can’t be the Blood Queen. That power already exists in Gaida. But it was something significant. Already, subtle changes manifest in her behaviour. Nothing alarming yet, but noticeable to those of us bound to her.

The sire bond connects us in ways I’m still learning to navigate. Her emotions filter through to me like background noise, constant but usually manageable. When they spike, however, the intensity can be overwhelming. Last night, her nightmare jolted me awake in my own room, her fear and confusion flooding through our connection.

I turn another page in the crumbling tome before me, a pre-Enlightenment treatise on vampire origin myths. Most texts on the Blood Queen prove frustratingly vague, more legend than fact, but occasional fragments align across sources, suggesting kernels of truth.

“Any progress?” Luke asks, appearing beside my table with that unnerving vampire silence I’ve yet to master. He hands me a to-go cup of synthetic blood which I gulp back hungrily.

“Some,” I reply, gesturing to my organised notes. “The accounts vary wildly, but certain elements remain consistent. The Blood Queen created the first vampires as guardians of the veil between worlds.”

Luke sits across from me, his ancient eyes studying my face. “You’re adapting remarkably well to your turning.”

“Academic curiosity overrides discomfort,” I say with a shrug, though we both know it’s more complicated. The sire bond with Gaida provides a stability that I would die without, and without it, the blood hunger would likely dominate my thoughts.

“Have you tried your magick yet?”

I nod and flash an orb at him with a grin. “All is as it should be.”

“See? Nothing to worry about,” he murmurs with a smile. “What else have you found?” He nods toward my notes.

I slide a particular text toward him. “This account from 1103 mentions the Blood Queen’s consciousness surviving beyond her physical form, persisting within her power. If true, when Mashtar was destroyed and whatever power transfer happened with Gaida...”

“She might have received more than just power,” Luke finishes, his expression grave. “The original Blood Queen’s consciousness could now reside within her.”

“Precisely,” I say, tapping my finger on a passage. “The text describes it as ‘the awakening of ancient memory,’ rather than possession. More knowledge than direct influence, but still potentially destabilising.”

Luke frowns, reading the passage. “Have you discussed this with Gaida?”

“Not yet. I wanted more substantial evidence before giving her something to worry about.”

The lights flicker suddenly, plunging the library into momentary darkness before returning to normal. Luke and I exchange glances.

“Third time today,” I note. “The maintenance staff claim they can’t find any electrical faults.”

“It’s not just the lights,” Luke says quietly. “Temperature fluctuations in the western wing. Water running backwards in the fountains. Students reporting lost time.”

A chill runs through me. “How long?”

“Since the ritual. Increasing in frequency and intensity over the past three days.”

I close the book before me and lean forward. “Have you spoken with Constantine about similar occurrences in your world?”

“He’s looking into it. So far, nothing comparable in recent history.”

A group of students come up the stairs, their voices hushed but carrying easily to our vampire hearing.

“...entire corridor just vanished for nearly ten minutes,” one whispers. “Beckett swears he saw stars through the walls.”

“Administration says it’s just magickal residue from the feral containment,” another replies sceptically.

Luke’s expression darkens. “I need to address the student body before rumours spiral further. We’ve managed to keep most of this contained so far, but if these incidents continue escalating, MistHallow might need to be evacuated. Continue your research. I’ll handle the immediate concerns.”

As Luke departs, I return to my books. Within an hour, I discover a promising reference in a manuscript so old that the language barely resembles modern English. It mentions a repository of Blood Queen knowledge hidden somewhere within MistHallow itself, constructed during the academy’s founding.

Following this lead takes me to the architectural archives, stored in a seldom-visited section of the library’s off-limits, uppermost floor, above this one and warded off. I break the wards easily, and take the stairs two at a time, still getting used to the vampire speed I’m now capable of.

Pushing open the door, I see that dust coats every surface, untouched for years, maybe decades, or longer. The so-called original blueprints of MistHallow lie preserved in special cases, protected by preservation spells that have lasted centuries. But we know differently. The very first ones have chambers and tunnels and secret places that aren’t on these official ones.

Tracing the evolution of the building through various renovations and expansions, I notice something odd. A space appears in the original plans but vanishes in later revisions. Not repurposed, but simply removed from the drawings, as if it never existed. The original label reads “Custodia Sanguinis”. Blood Guardian.

An electric tension fills me as I copy down the location. The room should exist directly beneath the current Headmaster’s office, accessible through a passage that’s been sealed for centuries.

I’m so absorbed in my discovery that the first wave of dizziness catches me off guard. The architectural plans blur before me, the edges of my vision darkening. A pressure builds behind my eyes, foreign yet strangely familiar, echoing with Gaida’s essence.

The second wave hits harder, driving me to my knees among the scattered papers. It is no longer merely dizziness but a wrenching sensation, as if something pulls my consciousness away from my body. Whatever affects me comes through Gaida’s blood within me.

The library dissolves around me, replaced by a landscape I’ve never seen. A vast stone circle larger than any historical site I’ve studied, beneath a sky split with colours no human eye could perceive. Figures move in precise formations, chanting in a language both alien and hauntingly familiar.

In the centre stands a woman who resembles Gaida so closely they could be twins, yet the differences prove stark upon closer inspection. Her eyes glow with power no modern vampire possesses, her movements carrying the weight of aeons rather than decades.

The original Blood Queen.

She raises her hands, and the sky above tears open, revealing glimpses of multiple realities layered upon each other like transparent pages in a book. Her expression holds yearning as she reaches toward these fractured realities.

“The worlds were once unified,” her voice resonates, though her lips don’t move. The communication bypasses language entirely, imprinting directly into my mind. “Split apart to preserve existence itself. But division was never meant to be permanent.”

The vision shifts, showing the ancient past. A singular reality teeming with beings of all kinds. Then catastrophe, some great conflict or calamity necessitating emergency separation.

“The guardians were created to maintain the boundaries until the time was right for reunification,” the Blood Queen continues. “Vampires, my children, keeping watch over the veils.”

Another shift, and I witness the Blood Queen’s growing obsession with reunification. Not patience for the ‘right time’ but determination that she alone could decide when worlds should merge again.

The vision reveals her growing isolation, her certainty hardening into dogma. Her power increasing as she worked toward bringing all realities back together.

“What they called corruption, I called clarity,” the Queen’s voice continues, tinged with bitterness. “They feared what they couldn’t understand. Mashtar was the only one who saw the truth, that unified, we would be unstoppable.”

Abruptly, the scene changes to show conflict. The Blood Queen and Mashtar against those who sought to stop them. The terrible price paid to prevent their plans. The worlds remaining separate, but at tremendous cost.

“Now the power returns to its rightful vessel,” the Queen’s voice grows triumphant. “Through her, I will complete what has begun. The barriers thin. The worlds call to each other across the void.”

A final image burns into my mind of MistHallow transformed, standing at the nexus point where all realities converge. The academy as ground zero for a cataclysmic reunification of worlds.

“The Blood Queen rises. The worlds will be one again.”

I return to myself, groaning on the archive room floor, papers scattered around me. The vision felt simultaneously endless and instantaneous.

Standing unsteadily, I gather the fallen documents. The vision didn’t come from me, it came through me. Through Gaida’s blood in my veins, through our sire bond. A message or a memory from the original Blood Queen, using me as a conduit to communicate what Gaida herself might not yet be ready to receive.

The ramifications stagger me. The Blood Queen’s consciousness survived within her power, which is now residing within Gaida and rising. The strange occurrences around MistHallow aren’t merely the aftermath of the ritual, they’re the first deliberate steps toward reunifying all worlds.

According to both my research and this vision, such reunification would be without a doubt, catastrophic, as we feared and not the salvation the Blood Queen believes.

I gather my notes and leave the archives, my worry increasing tenfold.