Chapter 105 - The Battle with the Elders part 4

I awoke with the thought that I should arm myself. I could not know the extent of the remaining elders' powers, and it would be foolish to attack them and their army without weapons and armor of my own. It was unwise to venture into their village last night, so naked and unprepared. I knew the limits of my own transformed body, but what tricks might those wily old monsters possess? What if they managed to restrain me? Could they drain me of my Living Blood somehow? Steal the source of my immortality?

I'd grown overconfident of my strength.

Tonight I must be prepared.

Thinking this, I turned my body over in our little earthen burrow and realized our retreat was slick and cold with mud. It had rained while we slept and water had seeped inside. A puddle had formed at the bottom, several inches deep. My feet were lying in the pool to my ankles.

The boy lay at my side in death-like repose, his black hair curling at his pale brow, his chest unmoving. It was always disconcerting to see him sleeping so still. Even his heart was silent, beating only once every few minutes, and weakly at that. It is the Strix which preserves us, not our human organs.

And what of this child? I thought to myself. Was I being a fool on his behalf? Might it not be a disservice to him to protect him so jealously from harm? What would become of him, sheltered and untrained in war, if something should happen to me? He would be weak and defenseless. He did not have my strength and invulnerability to rely on. The dark blood had worked a lesser miracle on his flesh. In strength, he was only slightly more powerful than the little pet my maker had kept, the strange and twisted Blood Drinker I had killed with a blow to the breast, the one we'd called the Lizard Man.

"Ilio, wake up. It is night," I said, nudging the boy.

Ilio's blue-white eyelids fluttered open and his face and flesh took on the animation of life. He turned his head to me and smiled, then became aware of the muck we wallowed in. His lips twisted into a grimace. "Yuck!" he exclaimed, holding his dripping hands before his eyes.

"It rained," I said, then rolled over and crawled toward the entrance of the small cavern. The mud squished and bubbled between my fingers as I slithered forward on my hands and knees. I pushed the stone out of the opening and clambered out onto the mountainside.

The sky overhead, I saw, was thick with clouds, but for the time being it was not raining. There was a flicker of lightning in the lowering heavens, a series of low, pulsing strobes. Thunder rumbled in the distance.

The forest surrounding us was slick and dripping, its denizens hushed by the recent downpour. The atmosphere was heavy and seemed charged with the promise of another violent deluge.

Ilio climbed out behind me and stood waiting. His white flesh was smeared with mud.

"Let us find a pool to bathe in," I said, and he nodded. Looking over my shoulder at him, I smiled and said, "See if you can keep up with me, little monkey."

I leapt into the bough of the nearest tree and flew through the forest toward a fall I had come across. I heard Ilio pursue me, laughing as he tried his best to keep up with me. It was a game, but in truth I was testing him as well, taking a measure of his speed and strength. I was quite pleased to find that he had little trouble moving through the treetops, and if he were just a bit stronger and faster, he might have actually overtaken me.

The woodland ended abruptly ahead. It seemed the world had come to an edge and there was only sky beyond. I dived into the empty air. Below me, the roar of white water, cascading over a rocky escarpment. I fell toward the foaming pools. Fizzing liquid enveloped me.

I surfaced, swept my wet hair from my eyes, looked up just in time to see Ilio dropping over the cliff behind me, his arms and legs pumping. I jumped out of the way as he disappeared in the spume, a great explosion of water blooming up in the fuming mist.

He burst from the water, laughing. "I almost caught up with you!" he boasted.

"You did very well," I agreed.

Grinning, he dunked his head in the water and scrubbed the mud from his hair. I did the same, and when I could not wash it all out, the boy waded to me and helped. He squeezed the clinging mud from my wavy locks, swirled my hair in the churning water.

"I wish my hair was long like yours," he said wistfully. He used his palms to wipe the last of the mud from my shoulders. "It does not grow after becoming what we are, does it?"

"No."

I swam toward the shore, my body gleaming and white again. Climbing onto the mossy rocks, I waited for Ilio to join me.

The boy had paused, hip-deep in the pool. He was looking down at his hands, his face thoughtful. I spoke before he could voice the realization in his eyes:

"You are strong, but the dark blood has left you far too vulnerable for my comfort. If you are brave, I would like to try to strengthen you. I have been remiss in my responsibilities toward you. I should not shelter you so much. You should know how to defend yourself in battle. You should know how to fight, and if necessary, how to take men for your sustenance. My only excuse is that I love you, and I wished to preserve your innocence a while longer."

Ilio nodded gravely. "I understand, fa—I mean, Thest."

I smiled. "In many ways, I have become your father, Ilio. I gave birth to this cold life you now have. I would rather you consider me a brother, however. It will strengthen you to think of yourself a man, not a man's son."

"And how will you try to make me a stronger Blood Drinker, Thest?"

"You were dying when I made you as you are, so you do not remember, but the trick is a simple one. I must pass the Living Blood inside me into your body. This was how I was made this cold white thing many years ago, and this is what I did to you."

"And you wish to do it again? To see if it will make me hardier?"

I nodded.

Ilio drew himself up. "I'm not afraid. Do it now. I would walk at your side in all things an equal. Even into battle. I would not have you fear for me."

"Lie back on the stones, then," I said.

Ilio reclined on the rocky bank. Despite his declaration, there was anxiety in his eyes as I leaned over him. "Open your mouth," I commanded, and when he obeyed, I brought up the black blood, the vile living fluid the Oombai called the ebu potashu. I put my mouth over his and the blood bolted out of my guts with a tearing pain. Ilio lurched, swallowing convulsively, his eyes wide. He kicked his legs and pushed against me, but his strength was no match for mine.

When I saw that it was adequate, and that he had swallowed all of it, I released him.

He rolled away from me, shuddering and whining in pain. He curled into a tight ball, his face twisted. Every muscle in his body was spasming. It seemed his flesh blanched just a little bit whiter, became just a little bit harder; perhaps it was only my imagination. Eventually, the spasms passed and he uncurled his body. He rolled onto his back, gasping.

Seeing how little he had changed, I suggested we try again.

"No! No more!" he cried breathlessly. "The pain is too much! I can't bear it!"

"All right," I said quickly. "Not tonight."

"No," he said, crying a little and shaking his head. "No. Not tonight. Please."

"That's fine, Ilio. I promise, no more tonight. Can you rise?"

I could tell by his countenance that the pain was abating. He sat up and nodded his head. I took his hand and helped him to his feet.

"Let us feed," I said. "Tonight you will accompany me on a raid."