Welcome to another installment of A Vampire’s Vengeance! When we last spent time with Edgar and Isabelle, the vampires had returned to the conference room next to all the sleeping humans they were traveling with. Edgar had much to think on and nowhere to begin. You can catch up with Part XXVII here. We find them here in more conversation. Let’s find out what Edgar learns →
"Why wasn't I awoken 200 years ago?"
The question hung in the air for a moment, floating right over the snoozing Isabelle to land on the table at Ceres' feet. Ceres removed her legs from the table and sat up, placed her elbows on the table and leaned into them, seeming to place herself over the question.
"Don Roberto forbid it, and Penelope enforced it. It was one of the reasons why his support began to waver. Everyone thought he was becoming power hungry. To us Pelicans, he said you would be vital to our survival in the future. That we all would be. The Pelicans, I mean."
Edgar sat in silence, rolling around the explanation in his mind. It would be like Don Roberto to plan for contingencies, whether they were later in the month or years away. He was, after all, a seer, and none more powerful existed. That he was dead was all the more unfortunate. Edgar had recognized the loss of his compadre upon waking, but was too focused on discovering what was amiss in the Manor. He was further put off by his inability to mourn the loss of his brethren. There was too much he did not understand in the world in which he awoke. What manner of beings were these to so easily overcome an elder of Don Roberto's standing? It angered him to think a pause for the fallen might result in the downfall of themselves. He returned his attention to Ceres.
"Where is Penelope?"
"I don't know. She disappeared right before the arrival of the beings that sent everyone out of the Manor. Those who survived think she was caught and killed by those things out there."
Edgar leaned back in his chair. So no one knew she was alive, then. It was a strange connection the three of them carried. They could sense one another, but were never privy to proximity. Penelope could be in a bunker on the other side of the world or in the next room. There was no knowing; Edgar knew only she lived. He decided it best, for now, to keep this bit of knowledge to himself.
Continued after the break
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Edgar threw his weight forward and stood up and began to pace. He felt like a caged animal, constrained by the path upon which he walked with Isabelle and Ceres, with these humans. He felt anxious. He wanted to do something, but he knew not what he could do. He knew little about the beings, only what Ceres had shown him. The arrival of the other coven and the fallout of those in the Manor remained unclear to him. That the column was still operational was a boon, but he wondered at its abandonment. And those who remained in the Barrows, who was he to find there, and what troubles would they raise on awakening?
Three hundred years he was left to lie, and Don Roberto had not the presence of mind to leave him anything to prepare him for what was to transpire. Or had he not? He sat down again and planted his elbows on his knees.
He retraced his steps in the Manor. He walked through his own room. He went down to the Column and brought Isabelle out of it. They talked in the dining hall, then returned to the Column. He had not looked through the room of Don Roberto, but he knew he would find nothing of import there, insofar as some warning or announcement was concerned. No, if Don Roberto had left him anything, Don Roberto would have left it in Edgar's room. Edgar simply had not the presence of mind to look for it when he entered. They would have to go back. The sooner, the better.
By this time, Ceres had once again reclined with her feet upon the table. Her head was resting on her chest, and she was breathing long and steady. It was quiet everywhere. If Edgar had not walked through several blocks of the city, to see its dilapidated state and recognize it was abandoned, he might have thought the whole region had turned vampire. Even the humans slept, and it may only be past noon.
While everyone slept, Edgar stole away from the conference room and returned to the corner office where he could survey the streets and watch the beings. He wasn't sure what he might discover, but if he was going to be awake--how could he not be, after sleeping for three centuries?--he was going to gather as much information as he could.
From his vantage high above the beings, will Edgar discover anything useful? He’s seen their patterns. He recognizes their strange physiques, so similar to our own, yet different enough to clearly identify them as not-human. I suppose there’s only one way to find out! Come back next week!
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