Blood Ties

Chapter Four



In the days that followed, Alysius’ wounds began to finally heal, much to the vampire’s relief, and he was now able to breathe easier, and move his leg safely. He couldn’t walk yet, but it was only a matter of time.



Neither of them had talked about the kiss since it had happened. Alysius appeared to not even remember it. In fact he seemed to not remember much. Aiden even had to remind him that they were going to head to Orcratis after the vampire felt up to it.



It was somewhere just before dawn when Aiden woke to Alysius screaming. He had pushed himself flat against the cave wall, his hands clutching at his head frantically. His legs were pulled up against him, though the broken one sat at an odd angle. The vampire was shaking hard, his skin so pale he almost glowed in the little bit of light from the fire. Another pained scream brought Aiden out of his trance and over to the vampire’s side.



Alysius looked up at the wolf-boy with liquid silver eyes. His fangs were extended and scratching lightly at his already injured bottom lip. “P-Please, make them stop.” He croaked, looking to Aiden for comfort and salvation. But the wolf-boy didn’t know what to do.


“What are they doing?” he asked, a little of the panic he felt making its way into his voice. The vampire shook his head.



“I-I can’t….they can’t make me…no, not going to.” The babbling was a sure sign that the usually eloquent vampire was sick.



“What are they making you do?” Aiden pulled the vampire’s hands away from his head, which Alysius was trying to claw to shreds.



“Blood, they want blood. But I don’t…I can’t. Not…not with…no!” Alysius lashed his arm out at whatever invisible demon was toying with his mind.



“Blood? Alysius, please tell me what’s going on.” Alysius was no longer listening to Aiden. He was shaking harder, and Aiden could literally feel the warmth leaching out of the vampire’s body. Figuring that it had worked once, Aiden wrapped his arms around the trembling form of Alysius, who stiffened almost instantly and tried to pull away.



“Don’t, no, please. Don’t…don’t want to hurt you..” The last part was said quietly before the white haired head of the vampire landed on the wolf-boy’s shoulder with a dull crack. Aiden could still feel him twitching and shaking, and he knew that he had heard of this somewhere before. The blue lips, the shivers, the delusions. If only he could remember where. Then it struck him. All the symptoms added up to a very dangerous poison for vampires. Black rose power, mixed with blood could make a vampire compliant to any order given him. That explained the compassion Alysius showed for him. Or the original cause of learning it anyway. Aiden had no doubts that Alysius was a genuinely kind vampire at heart. Which was rare to say the least.



From what Aiden knew, rose powder had no cure except time. Alysius would just have to wait it out. The werewolf placed a kiss on those blue lips, a lone tear making its way down his face.



***



Alysius woke not even three hours later and his first reaction was to hunch over and vomit onto the ground. Or he would have if there had been anything in his stomach. As it was he retched for a few seconds before sitting back up slowly and leaning against the wall. He heard a soft rumble and looked over to see Aiden still asleep not five feet away. The vampire ran a shaking hand through his messy hair, brushing it back off his face. He crawled, slowly, over to the werewolf and breathed in deep. Something was different about the way Aiden smelled. Normally the scent was of trees and sunlight, but this time there was a spice that the vampire couldn’t place. Whatever it was it made his mouth water. He was drawn closer to the werewolf until he was practically burying his nose Aiden’s neck.



Suddenly realizing what he was doing, Alysius pulled back as if he’d been burnt. Join with him. The whisper floated through his mind, chilling his bones. He was saved by the werewolf stirring and opening blurry green eyes to look at the vampire. Alysius just knew that he looked guilty by the expression that crossed Aiden’s face.



“What?” he slurred, stretching, then sitting up so he was level with the vampire. Alysius would have been blushing if he could have. “What is it? Are you ok?” Alysius nodded and cleared his throat, scooting back slowly, mindful of his leg. Let him in. Closer. Move!



“I don’t feel well.” The vampire said, licking his dry, still slightly blue lips. The whispers were softer then they had been earlier, but they were still there.



“Well I should think not.” Aiden said, in a tone that said Alysius was forgetting something. “You’ve been being poisoned for, I would guess, most of your life.” Alysius looked confused, then disbelieving, then his shoulders slumped and he closed his eyes.



“Armond.” He muttered, saying the name like it was a disease. Which was possible. “He hates me. Always has really. You see, my father was originally mated to one of the senators daughters, Riella, but she died just after Armond was born. Father was nearly destroyed by grief.” Alysius paused for breath, and to let Aiden really understand why Armond acted like he did. “Anyway, my mother, Camilla , came to Nosphret two centuries ago. She was young and father fell for her almost immediately. Though she didn’t like him much. They bonded a year later, after father courted her mercilessly.” He laughed lightly at this, and was joined by Aiden. “Two decades later I was born. They had tried to have others before me, but none of them survived passing.” Aiden looked confused.



“What is passing?” The werewolf tilted his head to the side.



“Oh, it’s when a fledgling’s heart stops, usually between the second and third week of life.” Alysius explained. Aiden nodded in understanding and gave Alysius a look that told him to continue. “Anyway, Armond hated my mother, and so, in turn, hates me.”



“How did your mother die?” Aiden wondered, then looked afraid that he might have brought up a painful memory for the vampire. Alysius bit his lip and looked thoughtful.



“They would never tell me. I think Armond knows, and I’m sure that father does. But I was too young, they thought, to handle that.” Aiden put a hand on the vampire’s shoulder.


“How old were you?” So very many questions that Aiden wanted to ask, but he held them back. The vampire was still under the effects of the poison if the twitching and blue tint to the skin was any clue. Bring him here. Closer. Feed!



“Um, one hundred and thirty.” The vampire answered, shaking his head at the dizziness that clouded his mind. Suddenly the world was tilting and Alysius felt the ground beneath his head before darkness took his sight and senses.



***



Aiden watched as Alysius twitched on the floor of the cave. The vampire had been out for an hour now. The most of which Alysius had spent twitching and whimpering. It was hard for Aiden to watch the one he cared for in pain. Or at least he thought it must hurt. Just as he was thinking this, Alysius moaned and opened his eyes. “What happened?” he was about to ask, but before he could get the words out he was pulled against the werewolf in a tight hug.



“I thought you were dead. Or gone at least. What do vampires call it when you die?” he wondered suddenly, pulling back to look at the vampire.



“Dead.” The vampire answered, laughing at the look on the werewolf’s face. But that laugh turned into a cough almost instantly, and he slumped against the werewolf.



“Are you sure you didn’t die?” asked Aiden, smoothing Alysius’ hair away from his forehead. The vampire was shivering again, though it seemed to have lessened. He guessed that it had something to do with being so close to the werewolf, who was at least seventy degrees warmer than the vampire.



“No, I’m sure.” He responded, closing his eyes. The spicy sent was back, and Alysius felt his fangs ache, something he had only ever felt when around blood. Blood. Yes. Drink. Join with him!



His eyes snapped open and he jerked out of Aiden’s arms. Moving so fast, he hit the opposite wall, and grunted as he fell, yet again, to the floor. Aiden looked at him in shock, then alarm, and made his way over to the vampire. Alysius jerked back away from his touch, covering his mouth with his hand. He bowed his head to look at the dirt.



“What’s wrong, Alysius?” Aiden’s voice was soft, and sounded hurt. “A-Are you ok?”



“I can’t.” was the only answer he received. The vampire was trembling again, though this time it seemed different. There was something darker in his voice. Aiden had never heard that tone from the other, though he had from other vampires.



“You can’t what?” The werewolf furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. Where had he heard that before? What caused it?



“Can’t stop…too, too much.”



“What, Alysius? What’s too much?” Aiden pulled Alysius’ hand away from his face long enough to see that the vampire’s fangs had lengthened again, and his eyes were swirling silver. Take. Drink. Join him.



“Please, Aiden, please. I-I just…” The vampire cut himself off. Blood. Take. Feed! Alysius jerked and bit his lip, slicing the already damaged skin.



It was like a light went off in Aiden’s head, and he pulled Alysius closer. “You need blood. That’s what you meant earlier.” At Alysius’ nod Aiden sighed. “But I don’t understand. Why would my blood affect you? You said that werewolf blood is poisonous to vampires. Wouldn’t it repel you.”


“I don’t know. But it doesn’t.” The vampire had stopped shaking, but his fangs were still released, and Aiden could tell that he was in pain from the way he was whimpering.



“Try it.” That brought a confused look from the vampire, who finally met the green eyes of the boy in front of him. “My blood. Try just a taste, and…well…” he trailed off. Alysius nodded, too hungry to resist any longer. He slowly reached for Aiden’s hand, and when the werewolf complied, he carefully cut into Aiden’s finger with his fangs. The second the werewolf’s blood touched his tongue, he moaned. It was heaven on his tongue, even though it was only one small taste, he felt as if everything in his body was screaming in relief. But before he could really enjoy it, he pulled back, looking at Aiden with something that seemed eerily like fear in his eyes.



“I don’t want to hurt you.” Alysius said in a strained voice that gave away his internal struggle. Aiden just sighed and shook his head.



“You won’t. I heal really fast, with or without food, so I’ll be fine in a few hours if you feed from me.” There was a smile on the wolf-boy’s face now, and a sort of confidence that made Alysius believe him. It took only one second for the werewolf to be pushed on his back with the vampire over him, looking like some fantastic version of a animal with its prey. Aiden had less than the space of time it takes to blink before his shirt was pulled away and the vampire’s teeth were sliding into his neck. The werewolf cried out, mostly in shock. Then a wonderful feeling of bliss took over his senses.



Alysius closed his eyes when the blood hit his tongue, and suddenly, he felt as if he were being bitten. He could easily tell that there was a floor beneath him, and something holding him there. But at the same time he was the one causing the pressure. Doing the biting, and he was absolutely not the one on the ground.



That was the end of his thought process because it was then that Aiden chose to moan and tilt his head, allowing Alysius more access. The vampire lost himself into the world of taste, touch, and finally feeling whole once more. He hadn’t realized how bad his hunger had gotten.



But just as Alysius was really feeling alive again, his head spun, the world tilted and he felt weak. Though, it was that same feeling that he was not really the one weakening. Realizing what it meant he forced himself to pull away from Aiden’s neck. The delicious smell of blood was everywhere in the cave, and it took every ounce of restraint to stop himself from taking more.



The vampire could feel the blood working inside of him. Could feel his skin knitting together where the worst of the cuts hadn’t healed, and his lip no longer felt as if it were pierced through with a hot poker. His leg, which only seconds earlier had been horribly bruised and still very broken, was now slowly fixing itself, though the bruises remained.



Aiden it seemed, was trapped in a daze. Though he was obviously still conscious, he wasn’t moving, and there was still a slow trickle of blood making its way from the wound to the floor.


“Aiden?” The sound of his name seemed to wake the werewolf from his trance and he turned his head to look at the vampire, who was still leaning over him. He took a deep breath and looked towards the vampire.

“What…was…that?” he stuttered, slowly reaching a hand up to his neck.



“Well, it’s called bloodletting.” Alysius licked some of the afore mentioned substance off of his lip, and shrugged. Aiden blinked slowly, then tried to sit up, but he had to lay back down when the dizziness caught up to him again. His body was still humming.



“No. That was…I can’t even…wow.” He said all of this in a low whisper, since he was only a few inches from the vampire, who had leaned over him.



“Intense?” Alysius offered, looking at the floor. “I know, um, it was for me too.” Aiden blinked again.

“I could feel you. In my head. Like I was you.” Aiden looked surprised at himself for mentioning this, and the faint blush on his cheeks proved it. Alysius however looked shocked.


“You’re not supposed to feel anything.” He said, confusion clouding any other emotion he’d been having to that point.



“What?” was about the only thing that Aiden could say, as he was falling asleep.



“Vampires feel what the person they’re feeding off of feel so we can tell when they’ve had enough. It’s called joining. You shouldn’t have felt that.” Alysius’ voice was low, and Aiden could tell that it wasn’t anger that caused this discussion, but confusion and fear.


Knowing that the vampire would probably try to figure this out all day, and possibly part of the night was what made him reach out and pull the vampire to lay next to him. Alysius didn’t fight, feeling increasingly tired, despite the blood now running through his veins. Though he was still muttering when he finally lay down. Aiden, feeling a desperate need to be close to the vampire, curled against him, and relished the feeling of Alysius curling an arm around his back. “Why do I feel like this?” asked the wolf-boy.



“It’s a side effect of the bite. It will fade in a few hours.” Alysius answered in a whisper, as they were only inches apart now. Almost close enough to be one person. “It binds the victim to the vampire for a time, in case the vampire wants to keep them.”



“Why would a vampire want to keep their victim?” Though he was tired, Aiden still had questions he wanted to ask, and he was determined to ask them. A shrug was the only response he got from that question, so he moved on. “Alysius, you’ve never bitten anyone before, have you?” This made the vampire open his eyes, which had fallen shut from exhaustion.



“No, I haven’t. We get our blood from hunters, who bring back humans to be drained, and the blood bottled. I should have actually had me first kill by now, but father didn’t like the idea that I might get lost, or run away.” This speech was met with a annoyed look from Aiden.



“I hated your father before, for all the things he has done to my people, but somehow, I hate him more now. You don’t deserve to be treated like a slave, just because that no good, excuse for a vampire decides that you are his pet.” He never raised his voice, but Alysius could tell he was angry. It didn’t take a genius to tell that the werewolf was livid, and ready to tear something apart.



“Aiden, calm down, you’re shaking.” Alysius soothed, brushing Aiden’s hair off of his face. “It’s over now, and we’re safe, he can’t hurt us anymore. And once we get to Orcratis and find the Elders there, he won’t hurt anyone, ever again.” Aiden listened to the words that Alysius spoke, and it calmed the rage inside him.



“You’re right. Dwelling on it…well, it won’t help.” The wolf-boy sighed heavily, closing his already drooping eyes. The vampire too, closed his eyes, and waited till he heard Aiden’s breathing deepen, to fall asleep himself. Into world where there were no monsters, or terrors. Nothing to hurt, to frighten, or chill you’re soul. Just happiness, and for the first time since his mother had died, Alysius felt warm.



-_-_-_-



Ok, here the next update. If anyone wants to be added to a mailing list when I update this, my email is BloodTiesBook@hotmail.com. Please review!!