0262: The Vampire's Daughter, Book Three

Opening the door to the cellar, Elizabeth thought about what she might tell Sabastian about Sol and, ultimately, Susan. There seemed to be no good answers. He was in such a delicate state that anything she said could make matters turn for the worse.

If he decided to look for her in his current state, he was as likely to die in the sun as be killed by Thomas. If he internalized his concerns, he might never come out of his current shell. If he grew angry, there is no telling what could happen. “He might even turn on me,” she thought.

As she reached the landing, she looked at Sabastian, curled up in the corner of the room. She had left him in the bed, but it seemed that every time she left the basement he moved back to the corner.

She walked over and took him by the shoulders. “Come my dear,” she said, “you mustn’t lay on the floor like this. Come back to the bed. I’ll lay with you.”

Sabastian stood and turned around. He looked right through Elizabeth and she knew it. She wasn’t even sure that he knew she was there, though he complied with her request.

She spooned him in the bed, but didn’t say anything about the letter.

Several days latter, Elizabeth woke to find Sabastian sitting at the edge of the bed. “What’s wrong my dear?” she asked, sliding behind him and putting her arms around his waist.

“I am watching them talk,” he said, pointing to the wall in front of him.

“Who is talking?” Elizabeth asked.

“I think they are from God. Susan says they watch us. That she and I are of special interest to them so they watch us more than they watch others,” he said.

“You see angels?” she asked, with a worried look on her face.

“Yes and no. One is an angle and one is what you might call a devil, but both are from God. That is what Susan would say.”

“What are they saying?”

“They are talking about me,” he said, and then nodded at the wall. “Yes,” he said, “I can see and hear you.” After saying that, however, he turned and crawled back into bed, leaving Elizabeth at the end tearing.

She crawled back to him and asked, “Are they still here?”

“No, they left when they realized I could see and hear them”

“What did you hear them say before they left?” she asked, trying to keep herself from crying hysterically.

“They said that I am being tested. That if I pass the test then I am worthy,” he answered.

“Worthy of what?”

“I do not know,” Sabastian said. “I am not even sure what they mean by a test.”

“Oh, my child,” Elizabeth said, stroking Sabastian’s hair.

“What did your guest have to say?” he asked.

“Nothing of any importance.”

Sabastian shot up in the bed and moved close to the edge. He looked very intently at the side of the room and turned his head. “How do I know I can trust you?” he asked.

“I’m your sire,” Elizabeth said, “we’ve had our problems, but I assure that you can trust me. I’m here to help you.”

Sabastian turned back to her and said, “Your presence here does not help me. You are needed elsewhere. No harm will befall me, but you must keep me close.”

“What are you saying?” Elizabeth asked, but Sabastian simply lay back down.

She rubbed his arm and asked, “You think I should stand and fight Thomas, don’t you?” He didn’t answer. “How do you fight a vampire with his strength and connections throughout the world? If I fight him, not only am I rebelling against my sire, to whom I owe so much, but I’m also cutting myself off from the Old World and much of the New. This is a fools errand.”

“This too shall pass,” Sabastian said quietly.

Elizabeth chuckled as a tear ran down her face, “That wasn’t the answer I was looking for,” she said.



[The Vampire's Daughter: An ongoing vampire story. Copyright Reuben Gregg Brewer, 2005, 2006, 2007. All rights reserved.]