Page 7 of Resurrection

Not dead. A vampire. How had that happened? Gabe couldn’t even remember how he’d become a vampire. The woman flashed through his brain again. Her image bringing rage to the surface.

“Titus,” Gabe whispered, as the arms around him held him down. The name felt right.

“Go get his Focus. I will try to help him find some clarity,” Titus said.

“Fuck,” Sam cursed again. “Anyone else wanna deliver the bad news to the witch? He doesn’t take bad news well these days.”

“Rou loved Santini,” Con said.

“Past tense verb,” Sam said.

“Those last few months were bad,” Luca agreed as he opened the door. “Not sure if Santini will remember any of that. Once the revenant takes over, it’s all a blur.”

“I remember most of mine.” Sam said as he followed his lovers out the door.

“Not all of them, but we keep you sane,” Luca said.

The door shut behind them, and Gabe was left floundering, feeling weak and very lost. “I…”

“I know,” Titus said. “Let’s get you cleaned up and ready for your Focus. Perhaps he’ll help you fit the puzzles back into place.”

“You were dead…”

“I am dead. As are you. Undead. I am also no longer Titus, as you are no longer Gavriil. Not that either of those names are what history remembers. Your sire is dead by your own hand. And that was long ago. You belong to someone else now.”

Gabe wasn’t sure he wanted that. To be someone else, lost in a world he couldn’t piece together. Titus hauled him to his feet and dragged him toward a bathroom.

“We’ll start with the stink of the grave,” Titus said. “Getting you clean will go a long way in appeasing the witch.”

“We aren’t supposed to touch witches,” Gabe whispered.

“Sirenia had strange rules. Likely because her mate had a fondness for the blood of witches. I find the bite a bit intense, plus the upkeep is not particularly worth it as they are high strung by nature.”

Sirenia. Gabe’s sire. Those pieces fell into place. He even caught a glimpse of her death. His head throbbed. He heard water begin to run, and the steam of a hot shower slowly filled the room. Gabe concentrated on the growing mist, sucked the dampness into his lungs and tried to clear all the mess from his head.

“I’m married to a witch?” Gabe whispered. He was dragged to the center of the floor in the shower and left there. The water began to pelt him. But it eased to a gentle warm rain a few seconds later. His skin began to awaken, and he realized he was nude, and obviously very dirty as the water streamed off of him in muddy rivulets.

“You never actually completed the deed. Though he is your Focus. Human laws are unsigned, but the bond between you can only be broken by true death. You decide as to whether or not you’re married.”

“A male witch?”

“It is not as uncommon as you might think.”

Gabe bowed his head into the torrent of water. The dirt streamed over his face, water warm and soothing. He touched his face, startled at the beard growth which seemed unfamiliar.

“Once you’re clean, we can shave it if you like.” Titus moved around the room, setting out clothes and some toiletry items. Gabe had to work to sort through the memories to place those things.

“Brain is slow…” Gabe muttered.

“And that is normal. You were down a long time.”

He tried to remember the last time he’d gone to ground. It had been a few weeks during the plague. He’d been starving, but unable to find food that hadn’t been infected. And the few vampires he knew who’d taken from the dying wound up suffering for days in agony. “How long?”

Titus appeared thoughtful. “Thirteen years or so. You’ll have to ask your witch for certain.”

Over a decade. That was a lot of time to miss. And he still had a lot of memories to sort through. He also couldn’t recall feeling this weak the last time he’d gone to ground. “Why am I so weak?”

“You were absorbed back into the earth. Not all of us are down long enough for that to happen. I’ve heard the recovery time is longer.”