Date: Sat, 31 Dec 2005 14:46:30 -0800 (PST)
From: Sean O'Riley <seanriter@yahoo.com>
Subject: Vampire-High Priest Chapter 6

Long at last I am able to post again. I have been busy setting my personal
affairs in order.  I will write punctually here on, so you can expect to
see my posts at frequent intervals.
  
I thank all those who have written to me, you have all encouraged and
inspired me to keep on writing. There are four more chapters to go and it
will only become more exciting as you read on. I hope you enjoy.

As usual please let me know of your comments and suggestions at
seanriter@yahoo.com .  You can write to me to just say hello.

Chapter 6: Merwet - Love

It was close to a fortnight since I had properly fed, Johan's blood every
now and then kept me sated until now, but the deathly deed could not be put
away any longer. I would have to hunt, to feast on blood and death to
revitalize myself. I can still vividly remember the first time I had to do
the deed; I was as horrified as the slave I had killed. The screams of the
slave and the frown on my mentors face because of my sloppiness are still
fresh in my mind.

"Mery is engrossed yet again in some ancient memory, lately he has been
slipping away into the past. I am losing him, between his memories and the
endless duties to the new kingdom, where is the time for me? Only when we
are making love, I feel he is completely with me" thought Johan wryly. "I
wonder what he is thinking about right now?" Unable to contain his
curiosity Johan decided to peek into the Ker Heb's mind. He was horror
struck to see the images of a slave screaming in agonizing pain and his
blood spraying everywhere.

I felt the gentle nudge as Johan entered my mind, before I could bury my
memories he saw it all. He looked horrified, as if I was a monster about to
pounce on him any minute. I felt as if my heart was being torn out, there
is nothing more hurtful than to know, you have become a monster in the eyes
of your beloved. When I tried to hold him and comfort him he backed away, I
gripped his conscience through our bond and showed him the whole memory. He
seemed to relax when he understood the circumstances of the event but his
face was still ashen. Would he ever love me as he did before, now that he
knew what I had to do for survival?

I knew my lord had to kill for his survival but the savagery in the memory,
still was bone chilling. My mind told me to get away from this man, but my
heart was still as much in love as it was before. I loved this man, no
matter what his past might be, no matter what he was, evil or good I would
love him.

Johan flung his hands around me just when I thought I had lost him for
good. "Johan! I am sorry, but it is who I am. I am sorry...."

"Sssssh...mery I love you, nothing can ever change that. I am yours, I gave
myself, my body and my soul willingly to you and I'll love you no matter
what" said Johan, tears rolling down from his eyes.

I hugged him fiercely, the only way I could show him how dear he was to
me. "I love you Johan, I'll do anything for you. Please dearest, kill me
before you stop loving me."

"Miu-Oa I will love you always, even death won't be able to do us apart",
Johan smiled. With a steely resolve he said, "You need to feed my lord. I
understand it is a necessity and you don't have a choice. Just promise me
you won't...you won't make it hurt too much like that slave."

"I promise Johan, I promise I will be as gentle as possible", said the Ker
Heb vehemently.




The next night Johan went to bed early and Miu-Oa headed out to accomplish
the deed. He did not want to ride the mechanical contraption they called
the car, instead he strolled out enjoying the myriad sights and sounds the
city offered. Glowing signage, cars zooming by, lovers holding hands;
strolling and the smells of cooking meat almost made him throw up. There
were of course beggars at various levels of intoxication, times might have
changed but then and now the presence of these dregs of society seemed to
be a constant.

I brushed the minds of the people passing me by, behind the polite smiles
of greetings most minds were full of rage, jealousy and anxiety, all the
dark emotions known to man. There were very few happy people, love was
almost an alien emotion for them. Some were loved but hadn't realized it
yet, others foolishly doubted their love and wallowed in their insecurity
pushing away everyone who cared about them. Each mind, each life was an
immensely complicated jumble of emotions. Some minds like the man who was
trailing a young teenager were so twisted that they were no better than the
mindless beasts in the deepest pits of the underworld. Osiris confined
these twisted souls for eternity, from ever entering the living world. This
man harbored thoughts of torture and sexual abuse of innocent children, he
derived a perverse pleasure from these evil deeds. Certainly this man of
all mortals deserved to die for his own and the worlds good.

I entered his mind, it contained the most horrific images. I felt impure
entering his mind, I felt suffocation, as if my soul was being wrenched and
burned in the hell fires of the underworld. I shut off the images and I was
not gentle in invading his mind, I planted in his mind the need to follow
me wherever I went. He followed me like a mindless animal and I led him to
an isolated part of the parking building. I released him from my
control. He looked around his surroundings and then at me perplexed.

Before he could react I was upon him, my fangs buried in his jugular. Fear
almost masked the taste of the tainted blood. As I drained him of his life
essence, I made him relive the atrocities he had committed, only he was the
victim now. As the last of his life slipped away from his body and he had
taken his last breath, his body sagged and fell. I summoned the guardians
of the underworld and offered this man's soul as my sacrifice and they
blessed me renewing my vitality and youth.

I decided against burning his body to ashes and let the authorities
discover his body and finally expose this man's evil deeds. As I made my
way to home I contemplated the implications of my deed, even if I was god's
own chosen to disperse Maat (justice) in the mortal world and even if the
people I killed deserved damnation, it did not change the fact that, I had
done a most brutal act. The look on Johan's face still haunted me even if
he had forgiven me and understood the need for it.

When I reached home Johan was still asleep I lay down beside him. Soon I
would have to par take in another death, this one for Tut's eternal
peace. No matter what the reasons might be I was the reason for numerous
deaths, it never bothered me before, but now what Johan thought about me
mattered to me a lot. I was not sure if Johan would continue loving me if
he came to realize the murders I was directly or indirectly involved
with. The night passed and I slowly drifted into sleep.



Helios increasingly found himself getting peeks into his sire's mind, the
Ker Heb seemed to be feeling strong emotions almost constantly lately. The
other night he saw staring into a white man's horrified eyes, sucking on
his blood. Helios knew the Ker Heb had killed the man, he had also felt a
deep remorse unknown to vampires. These visions into the Ker Heb's mind
were making him more and more curious about their sire. Only he didn't know
how to go about sating his curiosity.

Helios decided to go back to Dallas and then decide on a future course of
action. He was excited and at the same time fearful of the Ker Heb's wrath
if he misunderstood the situation. Helios had always achieved success in
life, even when he was a mortal by taking risks and he knew he was onto
something big.  Who knew he might find something huge and land himself in a
higher position of power, possibly rule some part of the rogue world
autonomously.

"Gabrielle would be a problem, she would want to come along to Dallas and
everything would be for naught. He could ask her to be in charge while he
made a report to the Ker Heb, yeah that might work" thought Helios.

The next night Helios made his excuses to Gabrielle and boarded his flight
to DFW, however she was not convinced of his motives. She relayed her
doubts to Octavius.

At Dallas, Helios was met with Malachi, they both hated each other
instinctively, however Malachi was charged with the duty of perverting the
close subjects of the Ker Heb to their use. Helios seemed like an ambitious
vampire, after all he was one of the uncivilized rogues without a proper
family lineage and he might just about do anything if a proper offer was
made. Malachi decided to play it safe and leave it to the Elders to decide
if he could be the insider who might do their bidding.

Malachi invited Helios over to dinner to the Elders annual meeting. He
could see the twinkle in his eyes at the chance of socializing with the
powerful, this only reaffirmed his decision.



Johan was always excited to have guests, they saw little or no guests at
the mansion. The Miu-Oa's sworn children hardly ever visited. Even when
they did, they would leave as soon as they made their report to the Ker
Heb. Helios of all was most charming and mery really seemed to be taken to
him. When Helios arrived at the mansion and announced he would like to stay
for a while Johan was happy and excited.

Miu-Oa was sleeping late and Johan felt he deserved the rest. Lately he was
caught up in so much work and he knew something was weighing upon him
heavily although he tried his best not to show. Octavius was not much of a
conversationalist but it seemed as if he saw it all, heard it all and
impeccably managed the affairs of their mansion. So he was really looking
forward to Helios's stay.

Helios wanted an audience with Miu-Oa to announce his arrival and offer
himself at his disposal, as was customary. Octavius gave him an apprising
look with minimal conversation when he arrived, that was not out of the
ordinary since Octavius was a quiet person. Helios was announced into the
waiting lounge, Johan received him warmly. The whole mansion was decorated
in the Egyptian theme, the rustic wall colors, the palm trees, the earthen
pots and even the simple white linen tunics worn by the attendants were
fashioned in the reflection of the ancient world long dead.

Helios could not take his eyes off Johan who was dressed only in a pleated
kilt and adorned with simple yet elegant jewels. All his jewels were of
platinum and topaz stones of various sizes. The platinum circlet, anklets
and bracelets studded with blue stones emphasized Johan's brilliant blue
eyes. His was a mesmerizing image to say the least, Helios realized he was
staring and bowed to the Khenemet-Asar. "Greetings Khenemet-Asar, greetings
to the beloved of our sire."

"Children of Asarhotep are my children as well. Helios, trusted of my lord,
rise" Johan beamed with warmth and welcomed Helios.

Helios rose and both of them took their respective seats. "We are glad to
have you here Helios. Mery is still sleeping I am reluctant to wake him. He
needs his rest, he is so caught up in work that sometimes he ignores his
rest" said Johan.

"I am happy to be here lord Johan and I will gladly wait until our sire is
ready to see me. However, I am sure the wait will be a pleasant one in your
company" Helios smiled and Johan followed suit.

Helios decided to take a chance and said, "My lord you seem to be concerned
about the Ker Heb. I know there are not many you can share your feelings
with. I want you to know that I love and respect the Ker Heb although in a
different way than you do. I am concerned about my sire's well being as you
are. I am aware that he has been having some very strong feelings, we, his
blood children can all feel that , so please let me know if I can help in
anyway I can."

By the time Helios finished Johan was almost in tears and this fact was not
lost on Helios. He could barely contain his smugness while Johan was
composing himself. "Helios, you are right, mery seems to be disturbed
lately and he longer confides in me. I feel as if I am losing him. I know
he loves me, but the prophecy and now Tut..." at this point Johan realized
he had said too much and stopped, but the damage had already been
done. Octavius politely intruded and announced that Miu-Oa would see Helios
shortly.

Miu-Oa entered with little Franz in tow. Franz spent a lot of time with his
Neb and Miu-Oa brightened in his presence no matter what mood he was
in. The little tyke insisted on waking his Neb and play with him before his
bedtime. He was almost as possessive of the Ker Heb as his father. He would
not let go of the Ker Heb in there private time even when he had pressing
business to attend. Miu-Oa was not the least bit annoyed by the kid's
antics; in fact Johan thought he rather enjoyed it.

Helios rose from his seat and bowed. Johan embraced Miu-Oa lovingly while
Franz hugged them both. Miu-Oa kissed Johan and took his seat on the throne
with Johan on his side and Franz made himself comfortable in his lap.

"Greetings to the Ker Heb Miu-Oa, Beloved of Osiris, Hail Asarhotep, lord
of the living world" intoned Helios.

Miu-Oa smiled at the added embellishments to the customary greeting. "Rise
my son, may Osiris, lord of the living and dead bless you" said Miu-Oa
automatically.

"I present myself to you, my lord. I am your servant and shall always serve
you to the best of my abilities." Helios replied.

"Helios we are glad to have you here, I am always glad to have my children
here but your unannounced arrival is out of the ordinary. Is everything
alright upstate?"

"I apologize for arriving unannounced my lord. Everything is all right
upstate, in fact we have the majority of it under control with the
exception of some minor resistance. Gabrielle is more than capable of
handling it. I am here... I am here for no particular reason. I just felt
compelled to be here, to stand beside you. I felt you needed me here."

Miu-Oa was quiet, lost in thought. Miu-Oa knew, of all his children Helios
could sense his feelings much more vividly, so he was not surprised to find
him here offering his assistance.

Helios was fighting to remain calm with a turmoil raging in his mind. He
was trying to mask his true feeling and motives from the Ker Heb.

Miu-Oa finally spoke, "Helios you may remain in the mansion as long as you
wish or until such time I require you to be elsewhere. I welcome your
services, however at present no assistance is needed. I will send for you
when needed."

Helios was taken aback from the lack of enthusiasm from the Ker Heb. He
just hoped the Elders would be easier to win over than the Ker Heb. He was
unconcerned at his failure to win the Ker Heb's confidence but he knew he
had already won over Johan, that was as good as the same or better.

Franz unlike a typical child stayed quiet through out the audience, he knew
to keep his silence at such meetings. Johan was expecting that Miu-Oa might
at least open up with his favored child if not him. But he was far more
formal and uptight with Helios than expected. Johan was still hopeful. To
intrude in Ker Heb's mind was unthinkable, especially after the earlier
disaster, he would have to get his lord to open up somehow. Helios
hopefully might help in his endeavor.