Chapter Text
Laura stirred, taking in her surroundings. Stone walls. Floors draped with heavy rugs. No light, except for the flickering of candles. There were shelves of books everywhere. She pushed herself into a seated position and looked around.
“It lives! It breathes! It…needs to brush its hair,” LaFontaine joked from the doorway.
Laura blinked. “Laf? Where am I?”
LaFontaine strolled into the room with a steaming mug of hot chocolate. “You’re at Perry’s place. Under the shop. We brought you here a few days ago. You’ve been out of it the whole time.”
Laura swung her legs over the edge of the sofa. She stretched her muscles and rolled her neck. “I feel like I’ve been dead for a week.”
LaFontaine laughed nervously. “Yeah well, from what I can put together based on the condition of your apartment and your outfit, that’s probably not too far off.”
Laura glanced down. She was dressed in a white tank top and flannel pants. She raised an inquisitive eyebrow.
LaFontaine rubbed the back of their neck. “About that, when we found you, you weren’t – um – wearing much. Perry was adamant that we wash and clothe you.” They laughed.
Laura blushed. She bit her lip. The pain in her chest was still very present and the events of that night weighed on her like a heavy cross. “Have you found her?” There was no disguising the hope in her voice.
LaFontaine shook their head. “Perry has been looking everywhere. She’s just about exhausted her locator spell supplies. We’ve still got nothing. Wherever Lilith took Carmilla, it’s somewhere – not entirely in this realm.”
Tears sprang into Laura’s eyes. “Lilith didn’t take Carmilla,” she whispered. “Mircalla took Lilith – or Ell.”
“LaFontaine! I think I’ve got something!” Perry barreled through the door – hair a bright red mess of tangled curls. “Oh! Laura! You’re awake!”
Laura nodded, taking in Perry’s appearance. “I’m still hoping this is an elaborate nightmare, actually.” Then she did a double take. “Perry – your eyes…”
Perry’s face softened and she glanced at LaFontaine. “Yeah. It’s – a long story.” She directed her attention back to the blonde. “I’m so sorry, Laura. But if I hadn’t severed the bond, things would be much more dire.”
Laura’s face twisted. “You severed the bond?” Her eyes glowed a violent shade of dark purple.
LaFontaine rested a hesitant hand on Laura’s shoulder. “Calm down, L.” They looked between the two women. “Perry did what she had to do. Explain it to her Perr.”
Perry nodded, taking a seat beside the sofa. “Carmilla asked me to make her a charm. A token of her love for you, that would serve as insurance if her mother managed to find you.”
Laura looked down to the ring that was still on her finger. “What did it do?”
Perry bit her lip. “It was supposed to transfer Carmilla’s soul into your body, in the event that Lilita was able to kill you. If that were the case though, Carmilla would be – um – she’d be…”
“Dead,” Laura finished.
Perry nodded. “With magic, there is always the risk that something interfered. That it didn’t work the way it was meant to work. But, judging by the amount of blood that LaFontaine and I washed off or your body…”
“Lilita stabbed me. In the chest. I was dead,” Laura explained. “I don’t know for how long. But I was dead. I remember this blinding light. This warmth, beckoning me toward it. But then, everything was black again, and then I was opening my eyes and watching Carmilla’s lifeless body fall to the ground.”
She shook her head. “So this ring ripped Carmilla’s soul from her body and transferred it into mine? That’s the reason I’m still alive? That’s the reason Carmilla is…”
Perry nodded. “She didn’t want to live without you.” Her eyebrows furrowed. “What I don’t understand is – how Carmilla is still alive.”
LaFontaine chose this moment to speak up. “A vampire’s body has no use for a soul. Carmilla was special.”
Both the women in the room turned to face the redhead.
“What do you mean?” Laura asked.
“It all goes back to the very first vampire. The first vampire was created by accident,” they explained. “A young adventurer, named Ambrogio.”
Perry gasped, memories flooding back like a tidal wave. How could she have forgotten that crucial piece of information?
LaFontaine raised an eyebrow. “I take it you remember this particular tale?”
Perry nodded, frowning.
LaFontaine nodded. “Ambrogio was cursed to have his soul forfeited to Hades. All of the vampires after him inherited that curse.” They looked at Laura, whose face was pale. “So you see, Carmilla should never have even had a soul. It should have, for all intents and purposes, gone to the underworld the moment she became a vampire.”
“Which means if Carmilla kept one…something interfered,” Perry said softly. “I’ve known something was wrong ever since she asked for that spell, I just – still don’t know what.”
Laura shook her head. She looked at Perry. “But I thought that the vampires were the children of Lilith.”
Perry nodded. “Ambrogio was Lilith’s first son. The first offspring of the Succubus and the Archangel Samuel. He was, in fact, quite normal until he was cursed.” She shook her head. “Centuries were mere days in those times. After centuries of ingesting the blood of humans, the vampires became a less than noble race. And Lilith was forced to try again, with the succubae.”
Laura frowned. “Any other holes in the story you want to fill in?” she snarled.
Perry recoiled from the tone of Laura’s voice. “I’m sorry. At the time, it wasn’t a vital part of history. You asked about your ancestors, not Carmilla’s.”
Laura rolled her eyes, then sighed. “I know. I’m sorry. It’s not your fault. I just – everything hurts so badly. I feel like there’s a hole inside of my chest that just keeps growing. You meant to kill her in order to save me, and it didn’t work, so why do I feel like she’s still dying? Can we get her back?”
Perry nodded in understanding. “A soul echo. If I had to guess,” Perry stated quietly.
Laura blinked. “A what now?”
“It’s –,” Perry struggled to find the words. “Complicated to explain,” the redhead finished. “The answers may lie in the origin of the curse.” She clocked Laf side-eyeing her and sighed. “Okay, look, this is going to sound, odd,” she started. LaFontaine knew her only as Perenelle Flamel. Nothing more. Nothing less. That was the way she had had to keep it back then. Perhaps it was time to reveal her history. “Ambrogio was a young adventurer from Italy. His dream was to travel to Greece and have his fortune told by the Oracle of Delphi.” She closed her eyes. “At the time, the Oracle was Phemonoe, the daughter of Apollo.”
She took in a deep breath. She remembered his story as if it were yesterday. How one fortune could change the course of time so irrevocably. “When he reached the age of adulthood, he sailed by boat to Astakos and traveled east until he reached Delphi.”
“Of course, Delphi was the home of the temple of Apollo. Ambrogio sought out Apollo’s temple and went to speak to Phemonoe. She gave him his fortune, in the fashion that every fortune was given – cryptic, brief, a mere glimpse of what could come. The curse. The moon. The blood will run.”
Perry sighed. “Because of this cryptic message, Ambrogio did not sleep that night. When the sun rose, he was walking back toward Astakos and saw a beautiful maiden walking to the temple. He fell in love with her instantly and went to introduce himself.”
“The maiden’s name was Selene. She was the Oracle’s sister.” Perry closed her eyes. “My sister.”
LaFontaine and Laura both gasped.
Laura’s eyes were wide. “You – you were the first Oracle?”
Perry nodded. “The very same. Presented by my father, Apollo, the gift of sight, I was placed at the temple as a vessel by which man could speak with the gods.”
LaFontaine shook their head. “Perr, how come you never told me?”
Perry smiled sadly. “I was bound to silence. An unbreakable vow. Now that vow has been severed.”
LaFontaine grinned. “Kind of robbing the cradle, aren’t you? I’m only 800 years old and all.”
Perry chuckled. “You’re not angry with me?”
LaFontaine’s grin grew wider. “Are you kidding me? My lover is the daughter of a god.”
Suddenly Laura realized she’d been missing something big. She looked between the two of them. “You two – seem to know each other well.” She looked at Laf, “Also, 800 years old?”
Laf grimaced. “Yeah, about that,” they started. They stood, and gave a flamboyant bow. “Nicolas Flamel, at your service.”
Laura blinked. “You’re a character from Harry Potter?”
Laf stared at her, then looked to Perry. “That book has ruined my image.”
Perry laughed. “Don’t worry dear, your image is fine.” She turned to Laura. Nicolas Flamel was and is, in fact, a real person, Laura.” She chuckled, holding out her hand. “Also, Perenelle Flamel, lovely to meet you, officially.”
Laura blinked, waiting for her brain to catch up, then laughed. She couldn’t help herself. Those two were adorable, and it made the ache in her chest grow, but it was still endearing. “What happened to Ambrogio, Perry?”
Perry turned back to the succubus. “Right. Ambrogio fell in love with my sister, Selene. She was tasked with taking care of the temple, and of me, when I was in my trance. So, for the next few days, he came and met Selene every morning. Soon, she fell in love with him as well.”
“On his final day in Greece, he asked Selene to marry him and run away to Italy with him. He told her that he would meet her in the morning at their meeting spot and they would live happily ever after.”
Perry frowned. “But my father had been watching. He was furious that Ambrogio threatened to take one of his maidens from the temple. So, he cursed the man that from that day on, just the slightest touch of Apollo’s sunlight would burn Ambrogio’s skin.”
“The man was troubled, of course. He was supposed to meet with my sister in the morning, and he could not do so anymore. The sun would burn him. He took refuge in a cave. What he did not know at the time, was the cave belonged to Hades. Ambrogio told Hades of his woes and the God of the Underworld made a deal with Ambrogio. If he could steal Artemis’s silver bow, Hades would grant him and Selene refuge in the underworld.”
“Having no other plan, Ambrogio made the deal – leaving his soul with Hades as collateral. Should he return without the bow, his soul would be forfeit. Hades granted him a magical wooden bow and eleven arrows to hunt with. Ambrogio was supposed to use his kills to lure Artemis in by sacrificing the trophies at her temple.” Perry shook her head. “Let that be a lesson when dealing with gods of any kind. They always trick you.”
“Long story shor – well, not as long – Ambrogio managed to steal the bow,” Perry continued, “Artemis cursed him again so that silver would burn him. Then took pity on his love story and worked a separate deal with him. He and Selene could be together, but would worship only at Artemis’ temple. The catch being of course, Artemis’ worshippers remain pure. So, they could never touch, never kiss, never bear children. In the end, Artemis gave one final gift, immortality for both. Ambrogio could touch Selene once, to drink her blood and they would exist in immortality forever.”
“Ambrogio accepted, reluctantly, after Selene begged him to make it so. He drank her blood and Artemis met Selene’s soul in the sky. Selene became the goddess of moonlight. Every night, she was allowed to extend her rays and touch her Ambrogio. From then on after, anyone who ingested the blood of Ambrogio, would have eternal life, but with their father’s gifts, also came his curses. They could not stand in sunlight. They could not touch silver. And their souls were forever forfeit to Hades.”
Laura blinked again. “Right so – um – but I have Carmilla’s soul.”
Laf spoke up again, “Which is precisely why we need to figure out how Carmilla has a soul in the first place. And how to get it back inside her.”
Mircalla yanked at the chains that bound her wrists. She snarled and snapped her teeth at the woman in front of her. “Let me out of this!” she yelled hoarsely.
Ell smiled sweetly. “Are you going to play nicely now?”
Mircalla growled harshly. With all of her strength she pulled against the chains. Her wrists were raw and chaffed. She was starving. “Fine!” she growled. “Fine,” she whispered again. “I’ll do it. I’ll seduce the succubus.”
An evil smirk spread across Ell’s face. “Excellent.” She waved her hand and the chains disappeared. “Let’s get you cleaned up, shall we. “ She tilted her head to the side and exposed her throat. “Come on then lover, drink. You’ll need your strength.”
Mircalla lunged forward, teeth sinking into the soft flesh of Ell’s neck. “More,” she snarled.
Ell laughed as she felt the life force draining from her body and flowing into Mircalla’s. “You and I, dearest, we will make this world bleed.”
The blood tasted wrong. She knew something was off. She knew something was missing. She just didn’t know what.