The Vampire & Her Witch

”You said that there were three sources of power,” Diarmuid said, breaking the heavy silence that had fallen over the formal dining room following Ignatious’s statement that the founders of the Church were not unique.

Diarmuid had many questions he wanted to ask, but he filed each one of them away carefully and focused on gaining a complete picture first. The High Inquisitor wanted them to understand that the founders of the Church were part of a greater tradition with predecessors and likely successors, and Diarmuid could accept that part easily enough.

He’d already seen hints of this reality when he learned about the names the Eldritch applied to the same sacred constellations revered, and he’d heard of the Sovereign of the Stars who guided the Eldritch back from the brink of extinction from Lord Jalal. Hearing Ignatious confirm these things, with all of the additional context he’d provided, was useful, but the shock of it was easier to absorb given the things he’d already learned in Hanrahan.

”I assume that Vampires form the third source,” Diarmuid said. ”But in what way? The symmetry between Children of the Earth and Children of the Heavens seems direct enough, but it doesn’t leave room for anything else.”

”That’s where you’re wrong, Diarmuid,” Nyrielle said in a tone that felt more like a mother correcting a wayward child than any kind of chastisement. ”Even your own faith acknowledges that there is a world beyond this one, a place beyond death and before life.”

”No, that’s not possible!” Loman blurted. ”You can’t hail from the Heavenly Shores. Vampires are creatures of darkness...”

”And don’t your scriptures tell you that the Heavenly Shores lie beyond the horizon in the west?” Nyrielle asked as she leaned languidly against Ashlynn, holding her lover close as she spoke to the young priest. ”Where else would you find vampires but in the place where the sun vanishes at the end of the day?” she teased.

”But you aren’t wrong,” Nyrielle added in a more serious tone. ”I make no claims about your Heavenly Shores. Beyond this life, I have only touched the endless darkness of the Void, and it is from that darkness that True Vampires emerge.”

”There are scriptures,” Diarmuid said carefully. ”Both written by the Great Prophet and attested to by the saints who followed after him, that there is a darkness between the world of the living and the Heavenly Shores beyond,” he said as he swallowed heavily.

”Those who have not earned a path to the Heavenly Shores are said to wander in that darkness until they find their way to their next life,” Diarmuid continued hesitantly, trembling slightly as he realized the truth of Ignatious’s words. The things that they would hear next truly would be harder to face than the nature of the Great Prophet’s power.

”In the place you call the Void,” Diarmuid asked, mustering up all of his courage in the hopes of hearing an answer that would help him to anchor his faith. ”Do the souls of the dead dwell there? And could the Heavenly Shores exist beyond that place?”

”Would you like to touch the Void, Inquisitor Diarmuid?” Nyrielle asked gently. ”Nothing that would threaten your life,” she added when she saw the color drain from his face. ”But a glimpse of what lies beyond...”

”Nyri,” Ashlynn said lightly. ”I’m afraid that you’ll overwhelm him. He’s facing a great crisis,” she added softly. ”He may not have the strength to resist the pull of the Abyss if he touches the Void.”

Ashlynn had felt the pull of the Abyss when she held Nyrielle close as the sun rose. The horrible maw of darkness that could devour the soul itself. It came for every vampire, every time the sun rose. To resist the pull of the Abyss, Nyrielle and her progeny, and all other vampires as well, hid within the corners of their own minds, taking refuge in their memories to resist the pull of the Abyss.

It was a terrifying thing, and the daily struggle to resist it defined many things about vampires, but the Abyss didn’t just hunger for the souls of vampires. The Abyss devoured everything and everyone... even the unwary living souls who wandered too close to its dark depths.

”I wouldn’t do anything so dangerous,” Nyrielle said lightly. ”In fact, I don’t need to do anything at all. Ollie can do it for me, can’t you, Sir Ollie?” Nyrielle asked, raising an eyebrow at the young knight.

”I, I don’t know,” Ollie admitted hesitantly. ”There are no trees or leaves here, so I don’t know if it would even work...”

”The crystal hanging from the chandeliers will work just as well,” Nyrielle said. ”And I know you’ve been practicing. I can feel it every time you touch the Void. You can do it, just as I taught you,” she said gently.

”Wait,” Ashlynn said, holding up a hand and looking around the room. ”If you don’t wish to experience this, you should step outside now. There’s no shame in withdrawing,” she reassured everyone. ”But, whether you stay or not, please do not mention this to anyone else. Ollie is... unique. No other witch in my coven can do this, and there are witches who would fear him greatly if they learned that he could. So, please... if you cannot keep this secret, step outside now.”

For several moments, no one spoke, and the only movements in the room were the shifting of eyes and the turning of heads as each person observed their neighbors, wondering who among them would be the first to leave, or if anyone would leave at all.

”Is this what you were doing while Sybyll and I were training with Ashlynn?” Thane asked, leaning over to whisper in Ollie’s ear.

”Lady Nyrielle said she needed something from me, for Lady Ashlynn,” Ollie said, turning his neck ever so slightly to the side. ”I’d have helped her anyway, but she wanted to pay me back for it,” he said, as though that was enough.

In truth, Ollie thought that Nyrielle needed a distraction while Ashlynn was throwing herself into hellish training that left a swath of destruction several acres across. It had been in the days after Ashlynn learned that her own sister had been the one to betray her secret to Owain Lothian, and Ashlynn’s grief, pain, and rage had been palpable forces of barely restrained devastation that made her dangerous for even the members of her own coven to be near.

Ashlynn spent her days sleeping with Nyrielle, but during the night, while she trained with Thane and Sybyll, Nyrielle had thrown herself into a number of different projects, all for Ashlynn’s benefit, and that included teaching Ollie how to use the unique gift she’d bestowed on him as thanks for helping Ashlynn escape the Summer Villa.

”Go ahead, Ollie,” Ashlynn said when it was clear that no one intended to leave the room. ”You can draw on my strength if you need to,” she offered, extending her hand across the table.”

”I should be able to do this on my own,” Ollie said as he stood, picking up a knife from the table and pricking his finger. A single drop of dark, crimson blood welled up from the pinprick while Ollie closed his eyes, and when he finally spoke again, his voice sounded strange, as if it was echoing from some great distance, impossibly far away...

”Kiss of the Void: Dark Wind Through The Trees...”