Bound By Blood (52 page)

             
Anything beyond that, the Priestess
was not sure of as her mother’s sight nor Kaléé’s could see no further.

             
How determined were they to really see though? Samanthŕa knew deep within her heart, not much. No, for the past four nights, she and Chymeŕah clung to one another desperately. They spoke no more on whether or not the lies were true. Unspoken, they refused to accept it
at all. Samanthŕa even shared her mother's chamber.

             
Let the outside stay lost to them
, Chymeŕah said on the first night.
Here, whatever Aréel said, does not exist
.

             
Oh,
Dĩas and others of the bloodlines, particularly
the
Elders who attempted to play
peacekeeper
,
mad
e attempts to enter Chymeŕah’s
Realm
but she sealed it off from them all. She wouldn’t even acknowledge attempts from Monéaklá
,
who literally screamed blood stricken tears from outside the portal.

             
Perhaps the Priestess and her mother believed they could remain like this for all eternity. That is, until
the messenger
came giving word that Samanthŕa had been ca
lled to a meeting within Dĩas’s
Realm
. It concerned her title of High Priestess. At that very moment, the messe
nger waited outside Chymeŕah’s
Realm
for two
nights
, denied access to enter
. B
ut an order of reply had been
declared
and refusal to leave until he, the messenger, received it
.
At this point, Samanthŕa didn’
t care if she spent the rest of her nights
here in her mother’s dominion. There was no need to go back
and she was positive that she did not want to know what Dĩas wanted with her title.
She just wanted to believe none of it existed . . . if such a thing was ever possible.

             
And it was easy to believe especially since t
he
realm
s had been quiet. There hadn’t been one attack from Evil since the
so-called
s
ecrets were announced. How befitting, she thought to herself with sarcasm. No one even spoke anymore of what happened to the Theŕéans, Kaléé claimed
, who spoke to Chymeŕah and Samanthŕa continuously in their minds
,
for Kaléé
had been keeping one sharp eye on
everyone
with her spying ear glued to the ground.

             
While
Chymeŕah
and Kaléé were preoccupied, trying to sort out this mess
and prepare a reply to the messenger
, Samanthŕa gave up and took to the gardens. There
among
the many mounds of crystals, night lilies and winters rose bloomed in thick, rav
ishing
bushes. Their scent acted as aromatherapy, keeping her calm, as so did the clear tranquil waters in a
nearby
spring
and waterfall
. She sat on a marble bench, closed her
eyes,
and tried to keep her mind off of
him
,
her problems and new conflicts
,
since she couldn’t understand why she bothered to begin with.

             
D
espite the gibberish Aréel announced, she was positive that
he
was not hers to be had. And the way he left her when last she saw him, proved it so. Hi
s absence over the last few nights
didn’t help matters either. But how could she truly bring herself to hate him for that
?
How could she be foolish enough to think that she could belong to the Father of the Blood
?
Did she really think that at all or was it just his blood soiling up her thoughts? Maybe she was the one guilty of what she tried to convince her sisters of
?
Wasn’t that the natural way of things? We are each other’s mirrors? We attack and accuse what we are guilt
y
or capable of ourselves?

             
Had she confused feelings
for something so much simpler? Had she merely been drawn to his power . . . moth to flame?

             
She flipped open a small, velvet box and took out a long burgundy bottle filled with a special wine her mother had been making
for
her. It was made with small amounts of essence,
blood,
to help with the hunge
r she was finding hard to cope with
.

             
Daŕ
ēus’ blood
, his power,
seemed to have done more than cloud her
judgment
, she thought
,
as she poured a
g
oblet and took a sip. It didn’t completely agree with her, for her struggling beast had its own distinct craving, but it would do for now until she figured out
how
to
manage
her predicament.

             
What would she do? Allow Dǒntáe to awaken her
?
If she did, would her starving for Daŕ
ēus's essence finally be
relieved?

             
She shook her head with silent doubt. Despite how others
claimed
he felt towards her,
she
did not
feel that way towards him
, no more than she Kalãe felt to be her mother. This also proved that Dǒntáe
was
not
her destined A
wakener
--
for no Vii could resist his charms if he were.

             
As the wine was c
ausing her stomach to grieve and her pal
ate
to revolt, she s
e
t the goblet down, taking a deep breath and giving up.

             
“I’ll likely starve now.” She hissed, pulling up her antique colored chemise and leaning back towards a statue while the mist of
the
small waterfall caressed her with
kisses of
falling
spray
.
"It seems, Goddess," she spoke to the stars, "I am doomed no matter what route I go--Evil curses or starvation."

             
“Would
I
allow you to starve?” Daŕ
ēus’ voice came from the shadows.

             
She flew
upward;
half turning and then jerking
quickly
back around
,
denying him a decent welcome.

             
“Well, well,
and to think I was having a wonderful night.” She rolled her eyes with false displeasure.

             
“I wonder if you would serve me such bitterness if you knew
where
I have b
een.” He sat beside her, laying yellowing
scrolls
upon her lap as if they were an offering of sorts
.

             
“What are these, excuses for your
silence,
rudeness,
and reasons
for your abandonment? Tell me, is this
normal
behavior for one who has staked a claim of protection or are you simply special?”

             
He laughed, crossed his
arms,
and looked up at the sky. He seemed unaffected by her sarcasm, amused.
He
seemed normal. “Take a look
,
my Priestess.
Your peace of mind may be found in there for t
hey are the
real
documents from the Vestibule
of Scrolls. Only I must
admit
,
the Oracles who betrayed us by consuming the Dark Matter weren’t too pleased about giving them up
,
or
having me demand them in the manner
that I did.” He winked.

             
Oracles. Betraying. What
?
“Was this a
replay of the Tavern?” She partly teased but her real interest focused on what he
had
laid before her. She ripped open the scrolls, reading
avid
ly.

             
“You will never let me live that one down
,
will you?”
His ey
e
s
gleamed.

             
“That among other things
. I am sure if you
stick around
though,
you will only add to my list.
So the Oracles are now corrupt?
" As strange as it sounded, it made so much sense. "
Has Evil left anyone who can be considered pure and untainted?
”
Before he could reply, she started to hiss. “Spawn of filth! Did you read these?”

             
She jumped up and started to pace. “Lies, all lies
,
especially concerning Dǒntáe.” She froze and frowned. “Poor,
dear
Dǒntáe,
and poor--” She almost
sai
d the name of his Vii but refrained. Once it was spoken, the secret would be
released,
and she was uncertain if that was such a wise thing to do.
Did she want Evil to know that she knew?

             
His face tightened at her concern but her mind was rattling
too
much to truly take notice. “What did Aréel and her minions hope to gain from all this? Wouldn’t they realize we would discover the truth?”

             
“I am sure they hoped to buy some time
,
”
h
e told her. “To do what, I am not sure
,
but I can promise you, I’ll find out.”

             
“You can start with the messenger who awaits our reply.” She moaned.

             
“Messenger?”

             
“Yes
;
something to do with my title.
Dĩas has called me to his
Realm
.” She sighed, giving him no time to respond.
“And my father? Do you think he was aware
of these lies
?” She handed him back the scrolls
for safekeeping
.

             
“It is hard to say, Samanthŕa. He is still suc
h a mystery to me
,” Daŕ
ēus admitted
.
“
I sense the Dark M
atter influencing him but I also sense light in his soul.”

             
“But it says nothing
in those
of my true Awakener or the curse. Or did I miss that?” She grabbed the scrolls again but he resisted giving them back to her.

             
“It is not here.” He shook his head and threw up his hands.

             
“So what does that mean? Does that mean there is a curse or there isn’t? Wait, I have read the scrolls concerning that
,
so there
is
a curse.” She began to pace again, remembering all the hours she spent in the Vestibule
of Scrolls reading about it herself.

             
“
Can you truly be sure? The O
racles have been corrupt for some
time.
Who knows what scrolls are truths and what is not
?
It will take some time to find out.” He stood up and touched her arm. “
Trust in me
;
I will find out.”

             
She stood still, silent and looked at him. Her eyes were
studying his, now
that she could look in
to
them for at least short
span
s of time, without falling giddy and hypnoti
zed
. “Until then, I will play it safe and consider the curse still stands. I will take no chance concerning my sisters.”

             
Her answer displeased him. “If there was a curse, do you not think I could protect you from it?”

             
“I shall protect myself
, thank
you.” She walked away from him towards the roses. “I have been doing it for a long time now.” She whipped around
,
changing the subject. “I don’t suppose you discovered anything more concerning this NORSŔAH and
Phãegen business
,
have you? My brother St
a
phãyn is still out there and may
be still in danger.”