Casandra Pendragon

“It comes down to power, even though there are, of course, slights and insults, vengeance and fear which have played a role, but at the end of the day, it has always been about power and the woman, Aurelia, whom you saved. She’s old, ancient and maybe the strongest member of our race. Controlling her has always been my brother’s ambition, ever since we drained our progenitor. From his blood we took his memories and the seed of war was planted, all those years ago, but it didn’t spark to life until we found her.” She fell silent, her gaze lingering on a colourful dragon-fly while she pondered her next words carefully.

“I don’t know where we come from, if we were made or developed naturally, but aside from our very beginning, nearly every memory is preserved, transferred from father to son, from mother to daughter. We know a lot, Cassandra, my own recollections reach back thousands of years even though I’m barely older than 5 centuries. To answer your question, my brother and I have… had different views on who we are. He always thought of us as the next step, an evolution that would one day unite the different races, turn them into a family with a shared past. I always thought of us as the other side of a coin, a weight to balance out the rapid growth of mortal numbers. For years it has been nothing but an interesting discussion, a good topic to argue over a glass of blood but then, one evening, we stumbled upon another tribe. In the middle of the night, a vampire came to our doors. He was hurt… no, he was dying and no matter how much blood we gave him, whatever we tried, he was slowly burning up from the inside. An excruciating death was all he had left to look forward to, but still…” a deep sigh escaped her and I would never have been able to guess that she didn’t have to breath. The gesture seemed so… natural.

“He wasn’t raging or desperate, to me, he seemed like someone who had accepted his fate, who was willing to repent, even if it meant the end of his existence. While his skin charred and his eyes turned into pits of flames he told us about his past, his family. He came from an island far to the East, a place of sand and heat. He was a traitor, or so he claimed, caught while he had tried to get his hands on a holy treasure. He was rambling, I thought, delirious from pain but when he spoke about his children, he didn’t seem lost and he asked us to go looking for them, to make sure they had survived his actions. The last request of a dying man and a tribe of vampires we had never heard about? My curiosity was overwhelming and it didn’t take much to convince my brother to come along. Within a few days we saddled our bats, sky ships hadn’t been available back then, and flew east. For many days we travelled and it was the last time we set out together, as a family.” She paused again, a melancholic expression flickering across her face.

“Weeks we spent under the open sky until we arrived on an island filled with sand and ancient monuments. A tribe… a cult of vampires had subjugated the few human settlements and lived as the undisputed tyrants of the desert, guarding a temple. Long story short, we made our way inside after having met the family of the deceased. We found a sealed sarcophagus, even more ancient than the temple. We tried to open it, but only managed to trigger several traps. The others came and we had to fight for our life. We would have lost, some of them were older than us, more powerful and even if they hadn’t been, there would have simply been too many of them to overcome. I thought we were going to be killed right then and there… but as you can guess, we weren’t. Somehow our blood got onto the sarcophagus during the fight. I didn’t even realise we had bled onto it, until I heard the heavy slab of stone move and fall to the ground. From one second to the next, we were alone amidst a mass of smouldering corpses, a withered wraith standing before us.” I wanted to interrupt, but she gestured for me to remain silent and continued.

“We hadn’t been able to truly wake her up, our blood had only been strong enough to sustain her for a little while. Before we could even utter a single word, she collapsed again and we were left alone, staring at a creature neither of us could understand. We took her back with us, intrigued and afraid of what we had found. I mentioned before that we can take in memories with the blood of our victims. We didn’t dare wake her up again without knowing who she was and why she had been imprisoned in the first place… so, after everything else had failed, we consumed a small part of her, hoping it would help us make some sense of whom we had found. It did and it shattered the bond between me and my brother more thoroughly than I could have imagined.” Another sigh escaped her and her eyes sparkled even more brightly, as if she was holding back her tears.

“Aurelia, one of the first vampires, one who lived amongst the immortals, a weapon wielded in a fight between… you call yourselves angels, don’t you? Much of what we saw was gibberish, meaningless without any form of context, but the fights we witnessed were enough to convince us that we were peeking into a world that was so far removed from everything we knew… dangerous and deadly to a degree we couldn’t fathom. It might not mean too much to you, but when I first saw an entire world vanish with nothing but an uttered command, I knew we had stumbled upon something that should remain buried and forgotten, something that didn’t belong to the mortal realm. My brother… he disagreed. He wanted to harvest her power, to become someone who could alter the fate of our world with nothing but his will. That was the last time we spoke to each other.” She fell silent, apparently still a absorbed in her memories while I was left contemplating what she had told me.

Some parts didn’t make sense to me. For one, if her brother still had been in control of the body, why hadn’t he simply drained her and tried to claim her strength for himself? Also, Alassara had never bothered to explain why Aurelia was different from any other vampire. I could guess, if she had been involved with immortals ages ago, it stood to reason that she had truly consumed a drop of blood and maybe her patron had helped her survive, but I simply didn’t know for sure. And how had she found the courage to manipulate me, if she had already known who I was? Better yet, how had she even found out in the first place?

“I can practically smell your curiosity,” her soft voice interrupted my train of thoughts. “Ask away, I’ll try to answer your questions to the best of my ability.” I nodded slowly and glanced at her form beneath my bangs.

“Why has he taken your daughter? He didn’t just want to punish you, did he? Otherwise he would have killed her immediately.”

“You’re right. When we consumed Aurelia’s blood, it changed us but we are, or rather were, in his case, still mostly normal vampires. Layla… she’s different. As much as it pains me to admit, her birth was my own design, an experiment for want of a better word. I used what little of Aurelia’s blood I had left after my brother had cut me off. I used it all up to make her grow in my womb. She’s… different… purer than we both ever were. In the end, I think he wanted to use her to revive Aurelia, convinced that her power could restore her much more thoroughly than we would ever have been able to. In this regard, at least, he was right, wasn’t he?”

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“Possibly. It might just as well have been my intervention but it doesn’t make much of a difference now, does it? Which makes me wonder… can Aurelia even be allowed to live? Who is she?”

“I can’t answer that. From what I’ve seen in her memories, she’s broken. A mistreated tool… chances are she’ll wake up and lash out for that’s the only thing she knows. But on the other hand, she might as well be docile like a puppy. Layla kept her alive and you’re of the same species as her previous master. Maybe she’ll accept either one of you as her new mistress? I simply can’t say. The only thing I know for sure is, you’re not dealing with someone sane. At best, she’ll turn out to be a neglected and desperate child, starved of any real connections. At worst, she’s too far gone, she’ll rampage for as long as she isn’t stopped.”

“And you thought it safe to leave her alone with your daughter? Are you nuts?” She smiled timidly.

“She’s hardly alone, now, is she? Your partner can turn her into ash with nothing more than a wish, can she not? As long as Ahri is with her, I’m not too worried about her safety. She’d never allow any harm to befall my child, especially since you want her to live. Or did I misjudge?”

“No… no I don’t think you did. How come you know so much about us? Your brother explained how he came to realise what we are, but how can you know so much about who we are?”

“Tom’s memories, a bit of spy work and good intuition that has kept me alive throughout the ages. I’ve seen monsters and saints, fanatics and believers… I would never place my trust in them, but you, Cassandra, you and your merry band of misfits, you are neither. You are driven and resolute but you’re also kind a forgiving, if you can afford to be, are you not?”

“I don’t know… I think… I’m still figuring it out. For the largest part of my existence I definitely was someone who wouldn’t have hesitated to… to make his life easier by killing whoever got in his way. I’m not that person anymore, or, at least, I don’t want to be. But it’s difficult and I make mistakes left, right and centre. I’m much more fallible than I used to be, but I try.”

“That’s all we can ever do, isn’t it? It might not mean much to you, but, little as I’ve seen, I can already tell that you’re not the nightmarish presence you once were, lightbringer.”

“Pardon? What did you just call me?” My heart rate was picking up and I felt my wings slither just beneath the surface. Judging from experience, this was usually the point where everything went sour. No way she could have picked that name up passively, right? But she simply laughed and put her hand on my arm. It wasn’t a possessive gesture, but rather reassuring.

“No need to panic. I don’t know much, but the little I’ve seen in Aurelia’s memories was always tainted with fear of one day encountering you. Your wings… I recognised them. She… I can’t even say for sure what happened, but she saw you battle once or twice, hidden in the shadows. Or maybe her former master…. mistress shared the memory with her. She was quite interested in you. Incidentally, have you ever met the first phoenix, the Lady of Dawn?” I huffed.

“Of course, there aren’t that many of us and I think I’ve met every single one quite a few times. It’s just a question of whether or not I can remember. But her… your brother had a statue of her in his basement, did you know?”

“Of course, I helped him build it. It’s almost a perfect replication of the one we found in the desert, guarding Aurelia’s sarcophagus. Since you recognised her, am I right in assuming you know who she is?” I massaged my temples and closed my eyes willing the memories to the surface.

“I… there are a few scenes, blurry images and snippets of conversations… I think I do. She was… is… I think she was a friend, not mine, but Ahri’s. I remembered them… one burning brighter than the other… Sarai and Aurora. Gods, she… she was one of the few I trusted, until… life and death, night and day, she was the phoenix, eternal, yet always changing. She would tend to the suns and nourish every beginning but she was also swift with her ravenous flames so something new could be born form the ashes. Yes… I know who she is. What about you?”

“Hardly. A few glimpses of power and beauty, strength and fear were all I gained from Aurelia. I could taste her, though. It’s difficult to describe… I know Aurelia drank her blood and… Sarai, wasn’t it… Sarai’s magic kept her alive, or, at least, prevented her final death. There’s still a trace of eternity in her and every time I consumed her blood, I felt it.” She turned around to fully face me, her eyes never wavering from mine.

“There’s a very specific reason for my question. You’ve already as much as admitted that you’re not on excellent terms, so allow me to ask directly: Will Aurelia’s mistress hunt for you, if she knows where you are?” I coughed and a slight blush rose to my cheeks.

“We didn’t part ways peacefully,” I finally admitted, eyes cast downward bashfully. “I… I’m not exactly welcome among my kin anymore. Will you make me regret telling you?”

“No, quite the opposite. I want to make sure you’re completely aware of what might happen, once she wakes up. Someone has already told you about the importance of our blood, I assume? Good, now imagine one of your line was to mix his blood with a vampire and made sure it would survive. What do you think would happen?”

“The vampire would be enthralled. I don’t know exactly how your connection to your progenitors work, but I’m quite convinced it would immediately snap into place between an immortal and a mortal.” She nodded slowly.

“My thoughts precisely. Now, from what I’ve heard you already fed Aurelia, didn’t you? Could you tell me what happened, exactly? I don’t mean to pry, but I’d quite like to know if the girl you carried form the darkness is bound to you, to an angel I’ve never met or if she’s free.”

“She’s not bound to me, I can tell you that much. I had to extracted every last spark of my power before she burned to husk. I’m… I’m corrupted, in a way, and my powers don’t play well with others. As for the rest… within her, there are strands of transcendent forces, gold and red, that keep her alive and my energies tore them apart. If they also enslave her, I can not tell, but she’s definitely still tied to Sarai’s powers, if not her will.” It was my turn to sigh. “I… I don’t know if I should even allow her to wake up, she could bring my sister to this world, but…”

“What is it,” Alassara whispered.

“She asked me to help her. It was the only thing Aurelia ever said to me. Help me, please… At first, I was ready to ignore it, but now… I don’t think I can, I don’t think I want to.” A small smile fluttered across her face, her gaze turning gentle.

“And I don’t think you should. Are you quite sure you took everything back? Because to me, it sounds like you didn’t.”

“What do you mean,” I quickly asked. “My energy burned her, devoured the very essence she needs to stay alive, she was dying! Of course I took it all back.”

“The cycle of life and death, Cassandra, beginnings and ends. She was dying and healing at the same time, wasn’t she? A bit more of the former from what you told me, but it doesn’t negate the simple fact that her body was regenerating while your powers still coursed through her. We heal from the heart outwards, you know. And that’s also where our chains are anchored.” My eyes must have become huge because Alassara chuckled quietly and began patting my arm.

“She’s not yours, you’d know instantly if she was. But I’m quite certain she’s not Sarai’s anymore, either. Think about it. How long did it take you to act? Her heart was probably healed over and over again, chock full of your energy. Our magic is linked to who we are, is it not? Do you imagine that your own power would preserve a curse that ties the girl you’re saving to an enemy? Especially after she invited you to do as you please? For that’s what she did, make no mistake. She asked for your help and accept every decision you’d make.” I cocked an eyebrow.

“Are you sure? If I was to ask for help, it wouldn’t mean I was willing to accept every price.”

“No, I imagine you wouldn’t. But she’s a vampire, Cassandra. Trust me, she knew exactly what she was saying. We are a bit twisted and asking for help means submission, always.”