Cognata: A Vampire Romance (7 page)

"She is an ancient legend. A myth. Once known as the mother of our kind. The Goddess of The Cognati."

"And she's here?!" I couldn't believe this was happening.

"That is what those fools assume. I do not believe in legends."

"I do not believe you." I trusted my instinct.

Aristide looked at me coyly.

"Is that so?"

"I think you know well of this 'Halona'. What other reason would those men have to come to you?"

"It's impossible to keep anything from you, isn't it?"

I smirked at him, urging him to tell me the story.

"Very well. Let us retreat to the safety of our chambers and I will share what I know."

'Legend has it, that there was once a star so bright, it descended from the blackness of the heavens and came to this world some 66,000 years ago. The natives who found the star immediately paid great reverence to it but it remained sealed like a shell for some time. On the 5th day, it opened and out came the most beautiful female creature anyone had ever laid eyes on. Her name was Halona and she was the first Cognata.

The mother of our kind as some call her. Her features were said to be so perfectly formed, that her beauty inspired others to follow in the ways of art and literature. She taught the simpletons of her time many wondrous things. She could wave her hand and dissolve someone into dust. She could fly and move things with her mind. Her power was unbelievable and she inspired many cultures of the time to rise to a higher standard of civilization.

It was said that she lived for centuries, as a queen to her people, nurturing and protecting them, until one fateful day - more stars descended from the skies and came to her side. The myth goes on to say that she was deeply envied by these strange people from the heavens, for all her power and all her worth and the influence she had upon the people of our world, although these star creatures were also worshipped as gods themselves as they began establishing cultures of their own. Yet she still found love for them and wanted to accept them. One of these gods, who was referred to as 'Guron', fell in love with our goddess and wanted to take her as his own, but the envy for their relationship only made matters worse and so begun a war of the star people, over much more than just that relationship - it extended to power and control over the whole world.

For many great ages, these star gods and goddesses fought a relentless bloody war with many earthlings perishing in the name of their so called 'saviors'. Halona and Guron were pushed back and along with their people, they were cursed by the victors; Infected by a bloodthirsty plague carefully constructed by their enemies which brought them to their knees. In utter madness, they cannibalized each other till their society came to the brink of total annihilation.

Guron succumbed to the bloodlust and it made him into the frenzied beast his enemies wished him to be. He became a heartbroken weapon until his untimely demise.

Halona escaped with a few noble and loyal servants who fought their bloodlust as much as they could, and this became the first, original society for the civilized Cognati. Through deep forms of meditation and the unlocking of strange, mysterious, creational power - these Cognati developed ways to control their bloodthirst without the need for even drawing on blood. They went to a hidden place, deep underground as legend has it; hiding from the madness of the surface. They became their own society and did their best to stay away from the perils of the upper world, thriving in their twilight dark arts - it was a rather interesting balance. They drew upon dark powers to exhibit light intentions and this was the gift our great mother passed down to us to ease the bloodlust until the time of her passing, some thousands of years later.

Our line eventually descended into madness once more, being leaderless - many gave in to the bloodthirst. The loss of the Goddess proved too much for some and many took their own lives in a final act of desperation, rather than face the tribulations on their own, but hope eventually prevailed. Over time, we slowly crept back to her proper teachings after endless swashing away of the falsified promises and messages our ancient enemies so carefully spread against us. It took several great ages before the Cognati learned a balance between the blood needed and the blood lusted...'

I'd known Aristide for almost 2 years. As I watched him relay the tale, I could sense a taste of dissatisfaction and an unquenched yearning for more than what he'd known. I'd never seen him like that before; so... wanting. Still, the tale of this 'Halona' was far more than a mere legend. She was undoubtedly a crux in my kind's history. I was tempted to learn more when the time came. As for then, I had no choice but to squiggle my cognitive mind's factory to reach out and visualize the tale on my own. I felt drawn to it and it was exceptionally vivid. I could see the Cognata Queen in her glory as if she were right in front of me.

The thought crossed my mind, whether Aristide had been playing mind games with me - but he certainly was not and he had no reason to either. Our relationship had grown stronger as time went on. We were lovers, but he was also my teacher, a great friend and my relentless protector.

"Why do you choose not to believe?" I asked him as we sat on opposite couches, sipping blood wine to the dimming fireplace heat against our faces. Aristide's eyes were on the fire. He was locked in deep laden thought, and I was determined to pluck it from his mind.

"So much of our history has been mutilated and deformed, used by our own people to satisfy their own ambitions and sway others to their goals." He slowly tilted his head in my direction, "It's hard to believe in anything these days."

"Do you think she never existed?"

"Do not misunderstand me, Alexia. She did exist - of that, I have no doubt. However, I cannot say if her image is used as a holy matriarch for power or a reminder of the truth. She taught us not to give into the bloodthirst. Not to kill men out of depravity... "

He paused thoughtfully as his eyes naturally danced back to the alluring fire, "I fear the Cognati's bloodthirst has been replaced by a deeper, more, sinister hunger - Greed."
Greed?
I wondered carefully.

Aristide took a long sip of his wine, the blood dripping down his mouth as he released a sigh of contentment and satisfaction, "There's a storm coming, my precious Alexia, and no one will be able to hide from it. The question is - what will you do about it?"

Interlude III

Samuel Speaks, 2017

"Sam?" Her tired, groggy voice is struggling to harmonize after her sleep, when she catches me reading the journal without her permission. Not going to lie, I'm a bit scared. Frozen, really. It's like that moment you walk in on your kid and he's done something really, really bad. I feel like that kid, and mommy is probably not pleased. That's just how it seems anyway.

"Are you reading my journal?" She asks, sitting that finely crafted naked body right in front of me on the couch. The more I get into this journal, the more I start looking at her very differently. I love her. That's what makes this so hard.

"How'd you sleep?" I try diverting.

"It was wonderful. I dreamed of you." It's so hard not to resist this woman, you really have no idea, "Do you find my journal that interesting?"

"Yes. Yes, I do. I can't stop reading it."
Way to go man, might as well tell her you stole the cookies too
- "I don't know why. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry... "

"Stop." She rests her hand on mine and once more, I am frozen, "I wanted you to read it." Those eyes look at me like a feline ready to pounce, knowing exactly what the fuck she wants.

"Did you know I would read it on my own?" I have to know

"Naturally." She starts smirking, holding my hand to her lips and kissing my fingers, "Let's go for breakfast. I am starving."

"Me too... "
Hey wait a minute
, "Wait, you eat?"

"What kind of silly question is that? Of course I eat. You've been used to too many fables of vampire culture."

"Is it necessary for you to eat?"

"Now that is a good question. Do you ask if I eat for my metabolism's sake or for the sake of pure pleasure?"

"Uh... " She can be
so
intimidating sometimes, "Sure! Which one is it?"

"A bit of both. I do not have to eat, although my appearance may change drastically if I don't and at the same time, why should you get all the oral pleasure?"

My face was twisted in awe of this woman till I found myself starting to crack up with her.

"Oh you are bad... " I'm beaming at this point. Something about her presence. It's like a trip from start to finish - a wild rollercoaster and I love every moment of it, "Alright. Let's go get something to eat."

She leans in and gives me a little smooch on my lips before she's off to get some clothes on. I close the journal and take a good look at it. She leaves me with it. She has to trust me. Whatever secret, whatever dark crypt I'm about to crawl in. She trusts me with it.

That has to mean something...

I slip into my casual fashion - some skinnies, sneakers, and a light fabric, black-colored hoodie. Then I see her. Now I was expecting some kinda' super elegant, baroque fashion.

Maybe a little similar to the first time I saw her walk through the hotel doors, but, to my ignorant surprise, she has a taste in modern fashion as well.

"Ready?" She asks me while I'm staring at her own dark velvet skinny jeans, carefully hugging those curves with a fitted black tank that has some logo saying
"Not so dread"
in white. She even has bracelets, earrings and the whole package along with the mascara and everything to match the 'perfect girlfriend' look. I'm wondering if she did the look on purpose. She probably did. Knowing Alexia so far, she is dangerously clever yet sincere.

"Hello? Sam? Are you ready?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah... let's hit the cafe downstairs."

"Sounds good." She wraps her arm in mine and for a second I get all light headed from her gorgeous scent. It's like roses, literally. If you were to see her down the street, you'd probably think she's one smoking hot broad but nothing more than that. One thing I've learned about this woman, is that she knows how to blend in and she knows when not to.

We practically skip down the hallway and the stairs, jolly and happy as ever. All those fears about having awkward moments with the person you'd invested a long distance relationship with? Yeah, we didn't really have any of those. We just mesh, really. I'm happy as hell to be with her and I can tell the same applied for her. We didn't care who saw it, we didn't care what they thought and honestly, we didn't really give a shit about the world or its problems; at least, for now.

Italy's a beautiful place. The cafe sat on a local block with small chairs around small tables, each sporting well-patterned, red tablecloth. There are one or two parked cars around and an older housing complex on the opposite side of the street. The morning feels fresh; the air is clean, slightly windy and a cool temperature to set the mood. Not too many clouds in the sky but the sun isn't being a dick. I don't see many people to be honest. Just one or two getting their morning joes and a couple sharing some laughs.

Alexia and I sit closer to the edge of the place. I want to see the sights. Being in new places is invigorating to me. I thrive off seeing new stuff, other cultures and how they do it and how they don't. I'm sure she's seen it all already. She did arrange this whole trip after all. I look back at her. The two of us look so different but so alike. Her skin color is nowhere near mine but her fashion sense and even the way she carried herself was undeniably similar to mine. Like yin and yang, we were a pair. It's an exception, but I can't deny it - it feels so natural.

"What's on your mind?" I ask her, smiling ear to freaking ear.

She props her chin up with her hands playfully, darting her eyes left to right before connecting them with mine, "Eggs and bacon!"

"Eggs and bacon?" I was expecting her to say something more refined.

"Mhm! What will you be getting?"

I look around for the menu, "Let's see... " I don't know what to get. Everything seems delicious.

"An omelet doesn't sound too bad... "

I close the menu, shifting it to the center of the table. Looking at my surroundings, I wonder how much people didn't know. There truly are marvelous things in our world and the saddest part is that people wouldn't believe it.

They'd deny it to the bitter end and here I find myself sitting with an ancient vampiress, the likes of whom I hadn't quite figured out yet. Everything I knew of the so called vampires was myth and legend. Now I had access to the truth.

"Hello, how are you today? Are you ready to order?" The waitress decides it's a good idea to interrupt my contemplation.

"Hello! We are quite well, thank you." Alexia's returning her smile and friendliness, far better than I can. It's so ironic. "I would like to have the Eggs and Bacon dish, with an espresso stretto and water to go with that."

The waitress starts scribbling her request while I sit here thinking about whether or not water is dangerous for her. I really have to let go of all the crap TV has pounded into my head. I'm painfully realizing that most of it; no, maybe all of it... is a lie. Alexia's walking proof of that.

"And you, sir?" The waitress asks me.

I nervously grab the menu to double check

"Uh, I'll have an omelet and, um, a cup of coffee - cream and sugar."

"Espresso, sir?"

"No, just filter coffee."

"Will that be all?" The waitress asks us both. We both nod to her request. She tells us it'll be a few minutes. My mind goes back to wandering again. I'm looking out into the street and I'm seeing a guy, maybe in his late 20s, typical scruffy-middle-class look trying to get by, on his way to work I'd say.

"What do you think of him?" I ask Alexia, keeping my focus on the dude.

"A busy one. Albeit clueless, he seems intent on his obligation. Man on a mission."

Then I look at her.

"Did you read his mind?"

"A little bit, or maybe I simply guessed."