Daughters of the Moon Pt. 03

Chapter 3

Consciousness flooded Carla, like someone had turned on all the lights in her mind at once. She gasped and sat up, overwhelmed by coming back into existence so suddenly and completely.

"Hey! It's okay. You're back," said Gwen. She was sitting in bed next to her.

"Gwen?"

"Yeah, it's me."

Carla looked at Gwen, the beautiful creature sitting in bed next to her, and it all came flooding back. Her capture, Sophia's edict, the night they had spent together, what Gwen had done to her, how it had felt.

"Oh my god," said Carla. She leaned forward and grabbed Gwen in a rough embrace.

"It really happened," said Carla.

"Yeah."

"What am I going to do?"

"I'm here. I'll help you figure it out," said Gwen

Carla held the hug until she felt like she could face the world. Then she pulled back up and Gwen was looking at her. Her face was serious.

"How do you feel?" She asked

Carla peeled back her upper lips and she felt it then, heavy in her jaw; she touched the tip of her fang.

"Holy shit," she said

"Yeah it can be weird." Said Gwen

Carla took stock of herself. She was definitely paler now, even her nipples and moles were washed out. She squeezed her arm and it still hurt if she squeezed too hard. Everything else felt pretty much the same too. She could tell there were differences but they were below the level of perception. It was the things that were missing that were the most obvious. She no longer felt the temperature. Usually a room was a little hot or a little cold and you just didn't notice, but it didn't feel like the room was at that magical neutral point. Her sense of temperature itself was missing. It was the same with being tired. Usually she felt a little bit tired, and on some rare occasions she felt fresh faced and awake, but now she was neither tired nor energized. She simply was.

"Huh," she said.

"It's not really that different," said Gwen.

"Yeah, I thought there'd be more to it," said Carla.

"Uh huh, exactly."

Carla breathed in, then paused.

"I'm still breathing."

"We do it out of habit. Whatever part of our brains makes us breathe is still there, but if you hold your breath you'll never have to let it out."

Carla held her breath and found Gwen was right, she never felt any tightness in her chest.

"Old vampires and ones that have lost touch with their humanity stop breathing. It's something to keep an eye out for," said Gwen.

Carla let out her breath and breathed in again. Pretty soon she was breathing normally.

"Let me get dressed and I'll go grab you something to drink," said Gwen.

Carla looked down at herself. She hadn't even realized she was still naked since she hadn't been cold. And being naked in front of Gwen, after last night, felt completely natural to her.

"Ummm, do you have any clothes for me?"

"I mean, I don't see why that's necessary," said Gwen. Her voice was carefully neutral but she had a little smirk.

"Ha."

Still smirking, Gwen went to her dresser and pulled out a set of clothes for Carla. They were very similar to the black and red dress she wore, just with a more normal cut that had sleeves and regular skirts. Red crescent moons were embroidered on the hem and up the sleeves

"Do we have to wear black and red?"

"No, you can wear whatever you want. This is just what I have on hand. We can go see the house tailor later."

"Yes, please."

They both dressed quickly. And by the time Carla was done, Gwen had left and returned with a wine bottle and a nice metal goblet.

"Here we go," said Gwen.

"What is it?"

"It's blood," said Gwen. She sounded very matter of fact. "It's good quality. Here, let me pour."

Gwen poured the blood into the goblet and handed it to her. Carla stared down at it, the blood looked dark and rich. The goblet was warm and when Carla ran her finger along the outside of it she could feel runes of power etched into the metal. She didn't recognize their meaning based on the shapes but she guessed they had to do with preservation. Carla brought the cup to her mouth and sniffed. It smelled delicious, but she still hesitated. She was hungry, and her body knew this would take away the hunger, but if she drank it she would be admitting to herself what she was now. It would be her first conscious acceptance of her new state.

Gwen saw her hesitation, "I know this is a little scary, but it's going to taste really good."

"Did the person this blood came from get hurt?"

"No! Did you see any of the collectors?"

Carla remembered the chirurgeon in the square. The artifact that drew the people's blood. She nodded.

"They know how to take just enough for us without hurting someone. As long as you don't do it too often the donor is fine. I promise no one was hurt to get you this blood."

Carla braced herself and took a sip.

The blood tasted as delicious as it smelled. It filled her mouth with a warm comfort like the first taste of tea on a cold winter night. She swallowed and the warmth didn't fade; she could track it as it traveled down her throat to her stomach. When it settled she felt her hunger sputter and disappear for a moment, giving her relief from an unpleasantness she had barely been aware of. The sip turned into a deep drink, and the warmth and fullness of the blood spread through her. When the goblet was empty she looked down at it a minute, than up at Gwen who was watching her expectantly

"Could I have that bottle?" asked Carla.

"Of course!" said Gwen, and handed it over to her.

Carla took it, tilted her head back, and started to chug. The blood poured down her throat in a warm comforting flood, filling the empty spaces in her. The hunger disappeared, replaced by the satisfaction of a good meal. Her arousal vanished too. It didn't feel like it was really sated, it was more as if she had sex on the brain and something else had come up and she had shuffled her needs away for later. Her lust wasn't satisfied, only appeased. Still, even that was its own form of satisfaction. She found herself relaxing, releasing tension she didn't know she had, as the blood filled her.

When the bottle was empty she dropped her arms but kept her head tilted back and her eyes closed. She took one more deep breath and went on her tiptoes, arching her back, enjoying the warmth that infused her body. She felt more real somehow, almost alive. She let the breath out slowly and looked at Gwen. Gwen was staring back at her, looking a little awed. It took Carla a minute to realize it was more than awe, it was lust.

Gwen cleared her throat. "Good?" she asked; her voice sounded thick.

"Very good," said Carla, "Do I have to drink from people?

Gwen shook her head, "Only if you want to, but you probably will. The bottled stuff is satisfying, but people are... well it's like sex. Maybe better. And we've come up with ways to make that safer too. But you'll want to work your way up to that. Your first time feeding from a person can be very intense. I figured we should take things slow."

"Yes, slow. Slow sounds absolutely great. Thanks for looking out for me."

"Of course. I'll always look out for you."

And Gwen sounded so sincere and so sweet that Carla had to kiss her. They explored each other's mouths for a minute. Carla thought about running her tongue over Gwen's lips, touching her breast, but she didn't know if she wanted to. It was just very comforting to hold this tiny, beautiful creature in her arms, and she didn't want any more than that at the moment.

They broke the kiss and then Carla stared down at Gwen for another minute, smiling, then reluctantly they let go.

"So, what now?"

Gwen looked a little dazed from the kiss, but then she shook herself, "Right, right. I should probably present you to the court."

Carla didn't respond.

"I know that's not your idea of a good time..."

"Being paraded in front of that room of lunatics so you can show me off to the... the woman who forced you to turn me? No, that does not sound like a good time."

Gwen sighed, "Maybe we can do that later. I can tell grandma that you're still adjusting."

"I think I'll need several years to adjust before I can see her."

"Carla!"

"What?" said Carla. She knew she sounded sullen and angry but she didn't care.

Gwen rubbed her eyes briefly, "Okay... okay... Oh, I know! I can introduce you to Aunt Anika. She's really my great aunt... and your great great aunt... but she says the great makes her feel old. She's our house's master necromancer. If you're going to be doing magic for the house, you'll be working with her. She's really sweet. I think you'll like her."

"Alright, that does sound good," said Carla. After everything that happened. The familiarity of a spellwright's shop, in any form, sounded comforting.

"Oh, and maybe we can fence later. I should teach you to fight."

"I don't know if I'd be any good at that."

"Don't worry, I'm a good teacher. And we've got some tricks that'll make it easy."

"Ooookay? Um, Gwen, if we're going to go to the spellwright's lab maybe you should take this off of me?"

Carla raised her wrist, showing the sorcerous tattoo that was blocking her magic

"Oh, right. You should be able to take that off yourself now. The same way you should be able to heal."

"How do I do that?"

"Just focus on it and sort of... will it to go away."

"Alright..."

Carla looked at the tattoo on her wrist and squinted. But it remained stubbornly on her wrist. She thought about how much she hated it and wanted it gone. She felt the skin begin to tingle like she was running ice across it, and it began to fade.

"Oh. Oh, I got it."

The tattoo faded away and her magic came back in a rush.

Carla screamed.

Her magic was still there, but instead of the usual warm glow of recognition it snarled at her. It was snapping around and howling in the cage of her chest. It was a ball of pure rage and hunger. It was like waking up after a quiet night and finding your childhood pet had gone rabid.

"Oh god, what is that?"

"What?! What?!"

"There's something wrong with my magic. There's something wrong. It's like there's a monster in me."

"Carla, it's okay. You're going to be okay."

"No, no, no, it's ruined! You put your poison in me and you ruined it. You ruined me!"

The despair Carla felt was endless and unanswerable. She felt like a stranger in her own body and she hated what it was now. Crying wasn't enough. Screaming wouldn't begin to express what was inside her.

Carla opened her mouth wide and she felt her fangs extend. She bit into her own arm and her fangs sank to the bone.

"Carla what are you doing!?!" screamed Gwen.

Carla shook her head back and forth, tearing at the flesh of her arm. The pain was incredible. It was a bright burning torch coming out of her arm traveling into her body, the pain was the only way to drown out what was inside her. It was the only way to distract herself from what she was now. She pulled her head back, feeling the skin stretch as she tore a huge chunk of flesh off of her arm. She immediately bit again.

"Stop! Stop! Stop! Please!"

But Carla wasn't listening. There was only the mad screaming of her magic and the pain in her arm. They filled her world. She started to pull back again, she could feel the flesh pull between her teeth as she tore it from her body.

Then Gwen yanked her head up and held it between her hands. Carla struggled to pull away and keep tearing, She punched Gwen in the face with her intact arm, but Gwen didn't even acknowledge the blow.

"Carla, you have to stop, relax."

Carla felt a wave of calm envelop her. Gwen's green eyes filled her vision, drowning out her pain and her rage and her despair. Gwen's power was so great it even calmed the raging madness of the magic in her chest. Carla sank to her knees and Gwen followed her down. She drew Carla's head to her breast and sat with her on the ground.

"It hurts, Gwen."

"I know, I know, I'm so sorry."

"I can't live like this."

"We can fix this. I promise we can fix this. Just give me a chance."

Carla nodded, but beneath the blanket of Gwen's power, she could feel the despair whispering that there was no fixing her, that she was broken beyond repair.

But Gwen was pushing that part of her down where it was only a quiet whisper, and the feel of Gwen's body against her face was comforting; she nodded into her chest,

"Okay, okay."

...

Gwen led her down, deep into the bowels of the palace. The walls turned from bright wallpaper and intricate woodwork to cold stone and flickering mage lights. Carla turned a corner and heard a bustle of activity through the door ahead of her; when she walked in, she was in a large open space that reminded her so much of a spellwright's shop that, even in the calm bubble of Gwen's power, she felt a burst of homesickness.

"Stephanie, please be careful with that distiller. If you drop it you'll add hours to the repair time."

In the center of the room was a woman who looked like a senior librarian to Carla, one who didn't mind if you kept books past their due date as long as you loved them as much as she did. She was tall, with darker skin that came from the southern league states or even from the dry kingdoms across the Summer Sea. Her vampirism didn't leave her pale or washed out, instead it burnished her skin so that she looked like she was carved from light oak wood. She looked to be in her mid forties with hints of silver in her hair, older than most Mircallas Carla had seen. She conducted the bustle of the lab with the gentle threats and barely suppressed exasperation of a senior guild mage, and hearing the familiar cadence gave Carla a burst of homesickness, even though that life was hers only a few days ago.

The woman turned and sighed, "Sean, my dear. That's... not right. You have the runework backwards. That's the leg motility sequence, not the arm connector." Her chiding tone was very gentle compared to Benjamin's barely concealed contempt.

"Aunt Anika?"

Anika turned toward Gwen, and her face lit with a smile, "Gwen, so good to see you!"

Anika moved forward and took Gwen's hands, then gave her a small kiss on the forehead.

"Please, you know I hate that."

"I know you do."

Gwen laughed, but it was weak. The tension didn't leave her body.

"This is my childe, Carla."

"Hello," said Carla. Her voice sounded like it was coming from far away.

"Oh my goodness! Oh my. Congratulations! Congratulations to you both. Gwen, this is such a surprise. Was this an act of passion? You always were so impulsive," said Anika. She had a big warm smile that made Carla feel utterly sad beneath the blanket clouding her mind.

"It... wasn't really my idea," said Gwen

"Oh?"

"Grandma thought... she thought having a childe would... teach me responsibility."

Anika went still for a moment, as if she had been frozen in amber. Then she shook her head and rubbed her brow as if she had a headache, "Of course she did, of course she did. Oh Sophia..."

Gwen shifted awkwardly

Then Anika looked back to Carla.

"I'm so sorry my dear. I am overjoyed to have you in our house, I'm sure you are rightfully furious at how you've been treated, but I hope... I hope we can move forward and I will do all I can to make you feel welcome."

Carla was very grateful Gwen was suppressing her emotions, because she was afraid without the warm blanket over her mind she would have lost it on the spot. Carla had never had an extended family and a warm, understanding aunt was something she had always longed for. Anika was someone she had always wished she had in her life.

"Thank you. Yes, that means a lot."

"There actually was something you could do for us, Aunt Anika. Can we talk? Privately?" Asked Gwen

"Of course; please, come with me to my office."

She turned and led them through one of the doors out of the room, down another dank, dim hallway. Through another door into an office that was very clearly new. The bookshelf was only half full and the desk was strewn with files and reports. Anika waved vaguely at the corner and a mage light flared to life, giving the normally dank room a homey feeling.

Anika sat behind her desk and gestured to the chairs in front of her.

"Now, what may I do for you, my dears."

"Right... before I turned Carla," Gwen swallowed. Her voice only hitched a little on the word turned. "She was a practitioner."

Anika turned to Carla, suddenly interested. "Really? Were you a guild member?"

"I was an apprentice but it was a long apprenticeship. I was a hedge witch but then I got a job in a spellwright's shop."

"So you're saying you were good but you were a woman and you weren't from a mage family so they treated you like dirt."

"Yeah, pretty much."

Anika shook his head. "Those vultures."

"Right, so I turned her and now..."

"My magic is broken," said Carla. She felt a lurch deep inside her but it was faint and far away.

"What do you mean by broken?"

"It feels like it's... poisoned. Like it's gone rabid."

"Ah. I see. I believe I know what the problem is, but do you mind if I take a look at you?"

"Not at all," Said Carla. She felt a surge of hope. Maybe there was still a chance for her.

"Let me see your hands."

Anika held out her hands. Carla slowly put her hands in Anika's.

Anika tilted her head slightly. After a moment, she pulled her hands back and turned to Gwen. "Are you using the Painted Eyes on her?"

Gwen nodded. "She was... pretty upset."

Carla looked down at her arm. It still ached. She had managed to heal the wounds but the flesh was angry and black like infected bruises. Gwen had told her vampire teeth used in anger took much longer to heal than a regular wound.

"I can't examine her if she's under your influence, dear."

Gwen looked at Carla.

"Do you think I can be fixed?" Asked Carla.

"I do."

Carla took a breath. She could tell breathing in was still comforting, "It's okay, Gwen."

Gwen nodded but she looked skeptical.

The warm comforting blanket vanished and her magic roared back, screaming at her, and the despair that had been pressed down welled up. Carla closed her eyes and slammed her fist on the table. She did it again, harder. Again, harder, and heard splintering wood. She looked down and took a breath. She told herself over and over again this could be fixed, it was going to be okay, that her life wasn't over. After a minute she believed it enough to look up. As she managed to get control of herself, her magic quieted down too. It stalked away to a cave to lick its wounds.

When she looked up again Anika was looking at her desk with her head in her hand. "That was a new desk."

"Sorry."

Anika sighed. "Alright, now give me your hands"

Carla reached forward over the crater she had made in the desk. Anika took her hands; they were rougher than Gwen's. Anika had kept the calluses she had earned when she was alive. Anika locked eyes with Carla and she felt a buzz in her head as a chill traveled over her body. It only took a moment and then Anika released her.

"It's as I thought. Your soul has been knocked out of alignment with your body."

"Can you fix it?" asked Gwen quickly

"I don't need to. It'll take care of itself. You've just gone through a change to your basic nature, your very essence, and your magic isn't integrated with the new you. Did you ever have a cat?"

"What?" asked Carla

"A cat? Claws, tail, catches mice?"

"Yes, we had a cat at the shop."

"When you move a cat to a new house, they're terrified. They don't know where they are. They don't recognize their territory. They usually hide for a few days until they feel safe. Then they have to explore their new territory, make it their own. Your magic is like that. You're a new house and it's going to take your magic some time to get used to it."