Page 13 of Elegy of Twilight
“Yes, if that is what it takes to stop you and your horde of vampires. I heard the tale of a neighboring abbey and garrison who defeated the vampires. Have you heard that tale?”
He let go of me suddenly. Moving to the grass, he sat down, unpacked the basket, and opened the bottle of wine.
“I heard that tale,” he admitted, fingers dancing over the neck of his lute before he poured two glasses of wine. “If more vampires come here, it will only make the nights more dangerous for you and for me. Those who don’t recognize my power will not obey, and then you’ll turn on me, saying I did not keep my word when I was outmaneuvered.”
I joined him on the grass, sitting crosslegged with the basket between us. “You are right. I would blame you for not keeping your word. What I don’t understand is how this all began. I grew up in this abbey, and vampires, while rumored, did not attack nor rule the night until recently. What changed?”
Titus finished his first glass of wine in a few gulps, then faced me, a barely contained fury threading through his words. “Lucia, I did not bring you here to discuss vampires. I don’t care for them,and I certainly don’t want to spend my nights with you discussing them.”
I closed my mouth and looked out at the lights, so friendly yet so far away. I shouldn’t be here at all, but back in the abbey, safe in bed, surrounded by strong walls and armed knights. A place where creatures of the night could not haunt me.
We sat in silence for a while, and I sensed his brooding anger, his fury at something that had happened to him that was out of his control. It still wasn’t known exactly how vampires replicated, because no one from the village had disappeared. But the High Priestess suspected it was from a bite, a transmission of the disease that kept the dead from truly dying. Instead, they were resurrected as dark creatures who thirsted for blood, haunting the night because they wished to be reborn, to be human again. But Titus was different.
“Tell me a story, any story,” I whispered, hoping to soothe his anger.
“I brought you here to be my distraction during these long nights,” Titus said, raking his fingers through his hair. “Tell me, Lucia, what do you do all day up in that abbey?”
He was asking for a distraction, a reason to get to know me, and for my story. Words formed on mytongue, slowly at first, then faster as my confidence surged. “As a baby, I was left on the doorstep of the abbey, and the High Priestess took me in and raised me. I grew up with the children of the village because they come to the abbey for instructions. My sisters—fellow priestesses—and I teach them how to read, write, discern truth, and learn skills that will benefit Veilix. When they are grown, some travel to other villages, start their own families, or even take up vows and become priests or priestesses.
“My gifting is with nurturing. I am good at encouraging life and making plants grow. Thus, I work in the gardens. I enjoy the challenge of my task and seeing the fruits of my labor. I’m honored to plan the gardens each year, deciding what and how many crops to grow to ensure we have enough to trade, to eat during the winter months, and, most importantly, to be generous and give to those in need. Every successful harvest leaves me with the feeling that I’m doing something important that matters. Like now.”
“I can sense your passion and your faith from here. You believe in what you are doing, and that is intoxicating.”
I glanced at him, unsure what to think about hisresponse. Was he genuine, or was he mocking me? “And you?”
He gave a bitter laugh and poured himself another glass. “I am damned already, and there’s no hope for me. I used to be a man, a knight, except I never would have reconciled myself to a garrison next to an abbey full of virgins.”
Heat suffused my face, and I turned away so he wouldn’t see my expression.
“No, I aspired for much more, for power and wealth and dominion, and all of it led to my downfall. Part of it was my fault, and part of it was poor luck, and now I’m here, balancing power. I got my wish in the worst way possible, and I’m paying for it.”
“Your words are so cryptic, I don’t know what you mean,” I admitted.
“Nor do I want to explain. One day, I hope to be free of these bonds and walk in the light again, and you, Lucia, you give me hope.”
Hope.Wasn’t that my purpose? To lift up the downtrodden, to bring hope to the hopeless, and to help those in need?
“Tell me, my moon goddess, if you didn’t live this life, what would you do?”
A dangerous question because it led to discontentand speculation. I lifted my chin. “I am satisfied with my life.”
“Why? Because you have everything you desire?”
“I have friendships, a place to live, and a purpose. Is that not enough?”
“I would say yes, except that I felt the way you kissed me back.”
“I. . .” Words failed me because he spoke the truth. Ihadkissed him back with a feverish passion. Of course he noticed, and I couldn’t deny the craving within me.
A strange note tinged his voice, a blend of longing and regret. “Would it be so wrong to find pleasure in each other?”
“Yes,” I croaked. “It would be wrong because it’s against my vows.”
“I wager you’ll enjoy it,” he teased.
“No,” I gasped.
“One day, the word yes shall pass from your lips. Come, have another drink with me.”
