Blood Rites Read Online Free
Stephen, oui ?”
“Fear?”
Elizabeth laughed, a sound of seductive sympathy. “He is afraid that you have been pushed into our world too fast and in that he is probably right. He is worried that his brother’s death will somehow taint you and for that he is very foolish, oui ? And above all, he knows that there will be a half dozen of his cousins vying for your attention tonight. He is jealous and that is an uncomfortably human emotion. You should be pleased that you unsettle him. Few things can.”
Elizabeth laughed again and started up the mountain. Helen followed until the glass house was only a small piece of the landscape. She smelled the leaves, the needles of the few pines, and the herbs the family had planted as they broke beneath her feet; all blending into the scent of late summer. They climbed until they reached Stephen’s house and stood on its catwalk waiting for the others to come. Though they did not speak, did not share thoughts with each other, Helen sensed Elizabeth’s calming touch, her quiet support as they waited side by side for the sad work in the glass house to end.
When the doors to the glass house opened and the family began the climb up the mountainside, Elizabeth moved closer to Helen. —After tonight you will never know loneliness— she said mind to mind. In response Helen reached for Elizabeth’s hand, not surprised to find her own was shaking.
II
For the first time in nearly two thousand years, the Austras welcomed someone half human into the family. Though the words of the ancient ritual were known by all, only Denys was old enough to recall them firsthand. Though he had long ago passed his leadership role to his half brother, Stephen, he led the family’s circle now.
They built a bonfire and Helen stood with her back to the heat of it, facing Denys. He held a crystal goblet in his hands and sang the inflected words of family sharing in a low solemn tone, “ Ge cres nas gevornes. Cres Aughkstra !” From blood we are born, blood of life eternal. He passed the goblet to her.
Helen repeated, her inflection altering the alien words to that of one joining the whole, the words of a child at its ten-year ritual, “ Ge cres nas gevornes. Cres Aughkstra !”
The crystal rested heavy in her left hand. She raised her right, palm up, and winced as Denys bit deeply into her wrist. The circle began to rotate, each member of the family standing briefly before her, taking one deep swallow from the wound on her wrist, letting the blood from their own similar wounds drip into the goblet that seemed to grow heavier with each small addition.
When the circle had been completed and Denys again stood before her, when all had shared in her life, she raised the goblet and turned to face the fire. She felt so much a stranger as she stared through the flames at each of them. Her straight blond hair seemed such a contrast to their uniform dark curls, her deep blue eyes so pale when compared to their colorless black ones. But she was family—one of these eternal, perfect predators. Long before she had changed, her soul had guessed the truth. Tilting her head back, she drank, consuming them all.
She felt the marrying of cells into one perfect union. She sensed the thoughts of the family around her, not just the words of welcome on the surface of their minds but the emotions layered beneath them—deep, deeper. And she felt the hole, the piece Charles had occupied in their collective thoughts, and at last understood their rage at the terrible loss that would never dull with time.
But his death, like so many others, brought new life. Their acceptance of her—human and family—was perfection in itself. At the time of her birth into immortality, Charles Austra had shown her the horror of his family’s past. Now she shared the bonds of ecstasy. She contemplated each of their lives as she stared into the flames. When they dwindled into coals, she looked past them at the ring of pale faces
“Fear?”
Elizabeth laughed, a sound of seductive sympathy. “He is afraid that you have been pushed into our world too fast and in that he is probably right. He is worried that his brother’s death will somehow taint you and for that he is very foolish, oui ? And above all, he knows that there will be a half dozen of his cousins vying for your attention tonight. He is jealous and that is an uncomfortably human emotion. You should be pleased that you unsettle him. Few things can.”
Elizabeth laughed again and started up the mountain. Helen followed until the glass house was only a small piece of the landscape. She smelled the leaves, the needles of the few pines, and the herbs the family had planted as they broke beneath her feet; all blending into the scent of late summer. They climbed until they reached Stephen’s house and stood on its catwalk waiting for the others to come. Though they did not speak, did not share thoughts with each other, Helen sensed Elizabeth’s calming touch, her quiet support as they waited side by side for the sad work in the glass house to end.
When the doors to the glass house opened and the family began the climb up the mountainside, Elizabeth moved closer to Helen. —After tonight you will never know loneliness— she said mind to mind. In response Helen reached for Elizabeth’s hand, not surprised to find her own was shaking.
II
For the first time in nearly two thousand years, the Austras welcomed someone half human into the family. Though the words of the ancient ritual were known by all, only Denys was old enough to recall them firsthand. Though he had long ago passed his leadership role to his half brother, Stephen, he led the family’s circle now.
They built a bonfire and Helen stood with her back to the heat of it, facing Denys. He held a crystal goblet in his hands and sang the inflected words of family sharing in a low solemn tone, “ Ge cres nas gevornes. Cres Aughkstra !” From blood we are born, blood of life eternal. He passed the goblet to her.
Helen repeated, her inflection altering the alien words to that of one joining the whole, the words of a child at its ten-year ritual, “ Ge cres nas gevornes. Cres Aughkstra !”
The crystal rested heavy in her left hand. She raised her right, palm up, and winced as Denys bit deeply into her wrist. The circle began to rotate, each member of the family standing briefly before her, taking one deep swallow from the wound on her wrist, letting the blood from their own similar wounds drip into the goblet that seemed to grow heavier with each small addition.
When the circle had been completed and Denys again stood before her, when all had shared in her life, she raised the goblet and turned to face the fire. She felt so much a stranger as she stared through the flames at each of them. Her straight blond hair seemed such a contrast to their uniform dark curls, her deep blue eyes so pale when compared to their colorless black ones. But she was family—one of these eternal, perfect predators. Long before she had changed, her soul had guessed the truth. Tilting her head back, she drank, consuming them all.
She felt the marrying of cells into one perfect union. She sensed the thoughts of the family around her, not just the words of welcome on the surface of their minds but the emotions layered beneath them—deep, deeper. And she felt the hole, the piece Charles had occupied in their collective thoughts, and at last understood their rage at the terrible loss that would never dull with time.
But his death, like so many others, brought new life. Their acceptance of her—human and family—was perfection in itself. At the time of her birth into immortality, Charles Austra had shown her the horror of his family’s past. Now she shared the bonds of ecstasy. She contemplated each of their lives as she stared into the flames. When they dwindled into coals, she looked past them at the ring of pale faces
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