Chapter Seven.
T he building of Mora began in total secrecy. At first, only the necessary individuals were informed. And that, put simply, were the Vam’pirs, my father and Taran. We divided into two groups: one in favour of leaving Kaltos and the other opposed.
Father argued quite reasonably that we were Kaltons and shouldn’t have to leave our homeland. True, but our families were under threat, and we were not prepared to risk them. Although we were born and raised here, it is clear that we are not welcomed, especially now. Mera, Tobais, Kait, Antonio, and Pal all sided with him.
As much as it hurt to disagree with Father, I led the other faction with the bulk of the Vam’pirs behind me. I can’t say that they all backed me for the right reason. Li’zel, for example, had more enough derision to last a thousand lifetimes. The fact remained I had the majority and when we voted, I won.
Mora began to be built on the largest landmass east of Kaltos. During this time, another of our abilities manifested itself. It was Julia who first showed us it and completely by mistake.
Raymone had been carrying an extremely large boulder with Ana when she tripped and lost her hold on it. Julia had been three hundred yards away and witnessed Ana fall. Before anyone blinked, she was there, catching Ana’s side of the stone before it crushed Ana and seriously injured Raymone. They wouldn’t have died, of course, but it would have been a horrific injury to both. Ana would have been very uncomfortable lying under a two-ton block!
We stood there open-mouthed. None of us had seen her move, and yet, somehow, she had.
“What did you do?” Suzan asked softly.
Julia shrugged as she gestured to Raymone to lay the stone down. Julia remained in mourning for her husband and rarely talked. We all tended to treat her with kid gloves for fear of hurting or damaging her even further.
“Did you use teleportation?” Diana questioned, laying a pale hand on her shoulder. Pale from the lack of sun.
Teleportation had been a skill widely used within our people, but since the change, we had found that skill no longer open to us. Why, I don’t know, but it was a fact that we can’t transport about the land like everyone else. Mildly frustrating wasn’t the word to use concerning the loss of it.
“No, I just ran,” Julia whispered before running, visibly, I might add, away from us. She headed down to where the stone was being loaded into boats to ship across to Mora.
“Julia ran?” I queried what I had heard.
“No one can run that fast,” Ricardus added.
“Julia did,” Nathan muttered, scratching his head.
“Julia was never into running or physical sports, from what I remember. It must have been teleportation,” Diana exclaimed, puzzled.
“No, Julia doesn’t lie either. If she said she ran, then Julia did,” Raymone demanded firmly, turning to all of us with a defensive glare on his face. He was extremely fond of Julia, having been a good friend of Kierran’s.
“How did she move that fast?” I demanded, not willing to drop the subject despite the look on Raymone’s face.
“That is something we must find out for ourselves,” Nathan said and narrowed his eyes as he considered this newfound ability.
We already had improved strength. For example, two of us could carry a two-ton block with ease and not break into a sweat.
“Somehow, Julia managed to transcend the boundaries of physical exertion and leaped into the emptiness beyond,” Diana mused out loud.
Nathan and I grinned at each other. What a load of gobbledegook.
“Raymone would have been injured, and Ana squashed.” I smirked again at Ana, who poked her tongue out at me. “Hey, I wonder what would have happened?”
“With what?” Inka asked.
“Would Ana have been flattened or knocked into the ground?
“Jacques!” Suzan exclaimed. “That’s extremely ghoulish!”
“No, Jacques has a point. Maybe the urgency of the situation allowed Julia to make the leap, or should I say run?” Nathan stated.
“Will you two behave for a moment?” Ana snapped. “It’s possible that you are correct. Someone was going to get hurt and Julia’s protectiveness welled up to make her forget her known limits.”
“Possibly,” Suzan mused. “After what happened with Kierran, she hates to see anyone in pain. The prospect of Ana being hurt drove Julia to exceed her physical limits.”
Inka said musingly, “If Julia can do it, we all can.”
“Yes. Julia’s shown us it’s possible; we’ve only to work out how,” Nathan replied in answer to my statement.
I sensed his mind turning over, and I guessed Nathan would try it. In an agreeable mood, I caught his gaze and walked slowly back to where Nathan had left his block.
“What are you two doing now?” Pal asked, exasperated. Over the past few weeks, I had become increasingly annoying, and I think that I had pushed Pal past his limit. I was meant to be helping Pal carry his block, but hey, if anybody, it would be Nathan and me who would do this.
“Just trying to do what Julia did,” I answered, bending down to pick the stone up. Pal snorted and threw his hands in the air before stomping off to help Curtan take mine down to the ship.
“Now, don’t get in our way. I would not want to be responsible for running someone over or squashing them,” Nathan ordered cheekily.
Ana sighed loudly enough for us to recognise that she was displeased with the pair of us and moved over to one side.
“Any ideas?” I asked softly so the others wouldn’t hear. I had my pride, after all, and didn’t want them to overhear.
“Not a clue,” Nathan said cheerfully.
I could have strangled him. I thought he’d had some idea, as he obviously wanted to try and copy Julia.
Nathan grinned. Failure did not bother him as much as it did me, and he’d banked on that, damn him. The fool had played my pride and competitiveness, and I had fallen for it. Bloody typical. Now, I had to take action or stay silent, and failure was not an option.
Guess what.
I failed.
“Perhaps we should concentrate on the ship and will ourselves there,” I suggested.
“Of course, that should work,” Nathan replied, sarcasm clear in his voice.
“You got a better idea?” I snapped.
“Nope,” he responded cheerfully again.
Infuriated, my hands itched to strangle him.
“Well, pick your end up,” I demanded instead.
Together, we bent down and picked the large block up. Nathan smirked and closed his eyes. I followed suit. In my head, I pictured the docks and the ship that awaited us. I began to desperately will myself there, and nothing happened. Upon opening my eyes, I observed the ship and the individuals gathered around it. Shutting my eyes once more, I pictured those individuals near the ship when, suddenly, a strange sensation struck me.
It’s difficult to explain. With teleportation, you simply put the picture in your head and willed yourself to that place or person. This was weird, it seemed surreal. I was being pulled, but I wasn’t moving. Everything slowed down, and as I opened my eyes, still concentrating fiercely, everything seemed to stretch. Colours and shapes mixed with one another, becoming a fierce blur.
Yet I didn’t move. My feet were rooted to the ground and no matter how hard I tried, I was not going anywhere. I concentrated on my feet, trying to force them to move, but to no avail. Then suddenly, I realised that Nathan was moving, and this broke my concentration.
“ Damn you, Nathan! ” I roared as his end of the block dropped.
Quickly, I let go before I was crushed. At the docks, Nathan did cartwheels and handsprings.
Smug bastard. I swore to get revenge.
“Nathan did it!” Pal exclaimed triumphantly before turning to sneer. “That will humble you, Jaq.”
“Doubt it, somehow. Jaq is too vain to let Nathan and Julia be the only two capable of this trick,” Kait said, slinging an arm around my shoulder.
“The sensation is strange,” I replied and explained what had happened.
“But you didn’t move. Why?” Curtan asked.
“No. I wanted to, and everything around me was moving, but I didn’t.” I glared at Nathan, who was running back up the hill. I desperately wanted to wipe the smug smile off his face. The presence of so many people prevented me from acting without appearing spiteful and jealous. Which I was.
“All right, show off. Pick your end of the block up, and we’ll walk slowly, this time down to the docks,” I said, trying to keep the petulance out of my voice. And obviously not succeeding, as Nathan turned to grin broadly at me.
“What happened, Jacques? Willpower didn’t work?”
Suddenly, through my spiteful feelings, I had a sudden insight. Now that was a rarity!
“You knew we were capable of this!” I accused loudly.
“Pah, don’t be stupid.”
“No, come on, admit it. You knew about this, Nathan. You did wonderful for someone who has not tried before,” I pushed.
“See the jealousy of a disappointed man,” Nathan teased.
“No! No, well, yes, I am jealous, but you already understood how. That’s why you baited me.”
I refused to let this slide. Not only had Nathan made a fool of me, but also he had kept this hidden from the rest of us. I’m not sure which annoyed me the most, but I wanted to wipe that self-satisfied look off his face. Nathan shrugged.
“Yes, I did know about this ability, but I didn’t say anything until I understood it wasn’t a fluke.”
“Nathan!” Raymone admonished. “Any newfound skills, you’re meant to share.”
Nathan ducked his head, shamefaced. What an actor! Nathan and I both knew he was playing the others.
“Raymone, I intended to mention this, but I needed to confirm it wasn’t a one-time thing. Why bother sharing if not everyone can accomplish it? I held off on saying anything until I saw someone do it. Sorry,” Nathan explained, glancing up at Raymone, who melted.
Idiot, couldn’t he see that Nathan was playing with him?
“Don’t do it again,” Raymone ordered by way of letting the subject drop.
“Are you ready, Jacques?” Nathan asked, bending down to pick up the block.
“We’ll walk.”
Nathan nodded, still playing contrite.
Once out of earshot of the others, I attacked. “Just when did you plan on telling us, you little bastard?”
“Ah, come on, Jacques. What do you think?” The contriteness disappeared, replaced by sheer confidence.
“I think that I know you too well. Anything else that we should be told?” I asked.
“Not at the moment.”
“Sure?” I persisted.
“Absolutely.”
“Nathan, you are a stinking liar, but I’ll let it go for now.”
Nathan grinned. “That’s why I love you so much.”
“Pah, lift your end, you’re letting it drop.”
Annoyingly, I was one of the last to master the ability. Not the last, but one of them. Inka, to my pride, was one of the first. At least that soothed my wounded pride a little. I found I had trouble making myself move.
Eduardo assumed I was putting a barrier up, but in truth, it was my pride getting in the way. I was forcing myself too hard and when I let go of my fear of being the last, then I travelled as fast as the others. And so, another ability came forward. Vam’pirs had great strength and speed.
What more would we possess? We all wondered, but nothing materialised over the next few weeks, and so we concentrated on Mora.
All of us had transported enough blocks to create a city. We had to decide where to build. That took some time as arguments waged between us. Some wished for it to be built on the beach; others wanted it building in the forest. We didn’t agree, so in the end, we tossed for it. The beach won. I was wary of building straight on to the beach because if the Kaltons came over, we were in their direct line of sight if they decided to attack.
Li’zel was the one who resolved the problem. There was a stone plateau a short distance away from the beach. Li’zel suggested that we excavate it, like the coven, and build a pyramid over the top of it. The levels above could be workrooms and living quarters. We would also have a secret door.
Who’d locate the entrance among all these blocks?
Vam’piric safety would be guaranteed. And we would have the beauty of the beach and the sea. Then, we only had to agree the size of the building we needed. A great deal of planning went into this, and in the end, we designed one twice the size of the largest pyramid in Egypt.
There was plenty of space for each person to have their own workroom. And we used special lights to simulate moonlight to work in. However, we had gotten used to working with people and nobody wanted to be on their own, except those who already worked alone.
We started to clear the land for building as mutterings began to arise on Kaltos about our constant disappearances. This made us work even harder for fear our families were in danger. The smashing of the windows in the Coven one night provided proof of escalating emotions on Kaltos.
Taran had caught the culprits, and surprisingly, they were two of Gideo’s distant family. Their punishment resulted in accusations of ongoing victimisation against the same families. An old woman in the market verbally abused my mother, and Curtan’s son, Anton, had his villa vandalised. This led to us building several outbuildings on Mora that we furnished with things from the Coven. This offered numerous guesthouses that stood ready if one of our families needed a quick escape. We would have offered to house them in the pyramid, but we thought that they might have been in danger from us. They wouldn’t have been, but you never knew.
The guest villas were outfitted with every comfort possible. We also built a high wall around them to protect from attack. Julia (in one of her rare moments) demanded that an escape tunnel be made in case the walls were over run.
To indulge her, Li’zel and D’vid built one, although they made it clear they didn’t consider it necessary. Julia argued that it was smarter to be safe than sorry before she walked away to admire the stars in the sky. The escape route split in two different directions. One tunnel led to a safe room in the pyramid, and the other headed to the beach where boats would be docked.
Then, one night, before we realised it, everything was finished and ready to move into. All we had to do was move our coffins from the Coven, where it would be deserted. We had cleared it out of all our belongings. All that remained was an empty shell.
Even the murals in our underground cellar had been removed. It was sad, as it had been our home for six years. Mora had taken a year to build. We had to maintain the appearance of living and working in the Villa to avoid being attacked sooner.
The memory of Maryn’s attack lingered while the lessons from it faded. Vam’pirs were hated figures, accused of everything wrong with society. Yeah, right.
Claudias wasn’t blamed for anything. He had got away free from any punishment and remained one of The Core. They hadn’t even kicked him out over his disgraceful conduct. Instead, he had blamed Maurick for everything and they’d believed him. Only Marel had voted against letting Claudias remain.
It just shows you what people want to believe. With public opinion turning against us, it was time to leave Kaltos sooner rather than later.
Kaltons may have hated us, but not as much as what I had begun to hate them. I didn’t understand why they were so against us, and I honestly didn’t care for their reasons anymore. Kaltons could have gone and rotted in hell for all I cared.
I wasn’t the only Vam’pir feeling like this. Especially as those with families were constantly worried as to what our presence might be doing to them. We’d no peace at all, and possibly moving to another continent was not a good idea as we left them unprotected.
But we realised our presence was causing them more grief than our absence. Anyway, we had made it clear that there were villas for them to live in next to our new place. If anyone experienced any trouble, then they were to come directly to us.
We wanted them all to come and start anew, but we couldn’t ask that. Just because we’d had to leave our home country, it didn’t mean that they should as well. Over time, the Kaltons might forget we existed or forget our presence entirely.
We would be so lucky!
That was not to be, though.
I’ll share the tale of the Reckoning later.
Taran had agreed to ship us over in the daylight. We spent the night loading our coffins on the ship. Vam’pirs completely trusted my brother and Anton, who was also coming, to make sure nothing untoward happened.
It was not without sorrow that we left Kaltos. It had been our home, and one that we had fond memories of, but it was now our nemesis. We would miss seeing our families, but Taran was towing another boat so we could travel back and forth between the continents. Vam’piric families had an offer to visit whenever they wanted. Just bring food was all that we asked, as we didn’t think that they would like our diet!
Marel was the sole person, besides our families, who knew our destination. We’d had to tell him so we could keep receiving our supply of blood. Taran and Anton, between them, had volunteered to bring this over during the day. It was kind of them, as this meant they couldn’t do their jobs. In fairness, we worked out an agreement. They agreed to accept some of our goods as payment to maintain their comfort and have items for trade.
This was the least which we could do as they were sacrificing their lives to help us. Without their aid, we would have severe difficulties, and there was nothing we wouldn’t do to support those that helped us. Vam’pirs owed them a great deal, as they had stuck by through thick and thin. They would, being family, but as Inka’s parents were an example, they didn’t have to.
The day we transported over to Mora, Taran was attacked, and it took Anton to fire a weapon to save him. Anton helped Taran abroad, bleeding and bruised, and set sail without further delay.
A crowd of dissidents had gathered and tried to board the ship, knowing that we were on board.
They had somehow discovered our planned escape, but I was unaware how. Later, we found out that Claudias suspected our intentions. Claudias, being a bastard, had broken into Marel’s office looking for information, which he duly leaked. Luckily for them, Taran not badly wounded, or there would have been hell to pay.
Taran had been shaken up, and he stayed the first night with us so we could keep an eye on him. Anton went back and brought Father with him and the supply of blood for the next day. I was furious that, once again, an innocent person had suffered. I had to be prevented from going back to Kaltos to seek revenge on the individuals who had harmed my twin.
Although I was dead and he was alive, we still maintained that bond. I realised Taran was hurt but wouldn’t say anything, and inside, I sensed his pain. Taran underestimated the growing animosity towards us, and I understand his desire to take action as my brother.
But just what could he do? Nothing except live the life I would have lived. I didn’t want him harmed.
In all honesty, I was envious of my twin. Taran was alive and had opportunities ahead of him that I was denied. I appreciated Taran giving up his life and job to look after us, but he shouldn’t have had to.
Deep inside of me, I resented him for his human frailties, his tanned skin, and sun-bleached hair. May the Creator forgive me, but I was intensely jealous of Taran’s humanity. Plus the fact that he would die someday and find the existence that was forever denied to me.
I sound incredibly jealous, and I was.
Fortunately, Taran and my parents are no longer alive; otherwise, this would have deeply hurt them. Tragically, I can’t help these emotions, though my family are long ago turned to dust. They have a final resting place, and I carry their love in my heart and their memories in my head.
While they have a resting place, I never will. I don’t think that I realised the extent of my jealousies. Inka did and tried to talk to me about them, but I brushed her concerns off with a wave of my hand. If she persisted, I would snap or walk away.
It was very childish of me, and over the years, I have had the chance to regret every nasty and spiteful word that I said to Inka. But that is my own fault, and I don’t think that she ever blamed me or held it against me. Except for that last fight over Mihal. That is what finally caused us to separate, and if I see my son again, I would kill him for taking Inka away from me.
No, I wouldn’t.
At the end of the day, Mihal remains my child, my flesh and blood.
Definitely my blood in more ways than one. I love Mihal dearly, but I don’t think that I like him very much. The man he became is the one I aspired to be. Mihal is a very strong individual and has his own set of values. Conversely, I am weak and lack morals. It just shows you what a petty person I can be where I freely admit being envious of my own child and his mother’s love for him.
◆◆◆
We settled into Mora easily.
Soon, it felt like home, and we were happier here than ever on Kaltos. Every week, Taran or Anton brought visitors over. Mora’s exact location was known only to those two. The visitors’ safety was the reason behind keeping Mora’s location confidential.
Soon, it became common knowledge that we had left Kaltos, and there were only two Kaltons who knew where we were. The families who’d supported us were finally left alone. A good thing, too.
They were not threatened anymore. Well, maybe slightly shunned, but they let that roll over their heads. Soon, when it was obvious it didn’t bother them, it stopped. Trouble only affected my family.
That was because they would rush to our defence at the drop of the hat. They didn’t keep their mouths shut, not even when Uralla lost her husband-to-be. Despite sticking by her through everything, William had reached his limit. The fool admitted that he had only stayed out of curiosity and the hope that one day Uralla, too, would turn her back on me.
The asshole gave her an ultimatum that caused her to laugh in his face and kick him out of the Villa. Uralla was heartbroken but decided her loyalty to the family extended to both Inka and me.
Mihal, Cleo, Stefan, and Maryn all stayed with my parents. Weekly, they would come over to spend a weekend, returning home during the day. We desperately missed seeing our children, but there was no way we would look after them in the daytime. Although heart-breaking, we thought it best to leave them on Kaltos.
Then something changed that brought them over to stay with us permanently.
A severe storm warning was sent out to all Kaltons. Only someone forgot to issue it to my parents.
Unaware of the weather, Father had taken the children sailing for the day. He was just off the coast when he saw the clouds rolling overhead. At first, he didn’t believe his eyes, but he set sail for the beach as a precaution. Good job, he did, too.
Just as he docked the boat, all hell broke loose, and the children were terrified. Father rushed them towards some caves high in the cliffs and pulled them to safety. They were frozen with cold and fear when we located them. Father had attempted to start a fire with the dry driftwood from the caves, but it was unsuccessful.
Taran had sent word that they were missing, and we arrived immediately.
Search parties sought them, but no sign of them was discovered. Indeed, they hadn’t even reached the beaches as the storm was still raging, and it was too dangerous for them to look far. The storm had brought trees crashing down and had destroyed several buildings. Considering that we controlled our weather, this storm was horrifying. No one had any idea how it had developed or how it had bypassed our satellite protection, but somehow it had.
Vam’pirs, with our strength, could easily brave the storm and high winds to search for the missing people. Seti found them calling out their names in a supernatural voice. Father had heard Seti over the howling and had braved the wind to walk, or rather stagger, to the entrance of the cave.
Seti had seen him and immediately sent word as to where they were. Inka and Diana were closer than I and hurried to where their children were sobbing in fear.
Pari and Emil reached them next with me last. The children clung to us, refusing to let go.
Relief was the main emotion we all felt. The youth were alive, and everything else paled before that fact.