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Disclaimer: As I'm sure you all know, I do not own Anne Rice's characters (except Bela). I make no money from this, nor am I connected in any way to Anne Rice. I do take some liberties with the characters, but not much. If you have any complaints, don't hesitate to contact me about them. ~Author
David followed the music. Driving slowly in the blizzard, he made his way to the small light in the far distance. He didn't know who'd be there to met him. Though he tried, he couldn't connect mentally to the subject. All he heard was the constant song of violins in his head.
Chopin? Mozart? He couldn't place the composer. It seemed to be a mix of the classics. As he moved closer, the fog parted to reveal a small tavern. David sat a moment after he parked his car. This meeting would hopefully bring a ending to his 5 year search. All the rumors he had heard through old documents, word of mouth, and the mysterious files he pursued in the archives of the Talamasca.
This was his first break in the legend of Akasha's first high priestess. Bela the Mystic. Was she still alive? If so, she would be almost as ancient as Maharet, Mekare, or Khayman. Possibly more dangerous. Maharet was adamant that David leave well enough alone. That if she were alive, it was obvious she wanted nothing to do with the remainder of the vampires.
David couldn't say why he decided to go against her wishes. He was risking the wrath of the Elder, or Queen of the Damned. But he just couldn't resist the opportunity. Who would be able to, he wondered? The stories this ancient vampire must know, the experiences unlike the rest of them.
As he stepped out of the car, the music in his head blared, then roared. Grimacing, David shook his head. "Stop." he muttered. "I just want to talk." The noise subsided back to the quite hum.
He walked into the tavern, excitement dodging his steps. The answer was here, he knew it! Scanning the room quickly, he spotted the vampire instantly. Petite, with a long waterfall of black hair, bronzed skin. Clad in a baggy sweater, jeans and boots. She wore discrete round sunglasses on her nose, while she strummed a guitar.
She knew who and what he was in an instant. Her abilities to scan minds was excellent. She did so with a light touch, yet with enough sassiness to let him pick up on her intrusion. When David felt the poke in his mind, he vainly tried to block it. Her lips turned up in one corner as she felt his instinct to keep his thoughts his own.
As she looked up at him over her sunglasses, he noticed that her eyes were almost a pure black. Like opals, they gleamed from the ages, and looked at him with amusement. "Bela?" he asked, breaking the silence.
"Yes." she spoke, sending her answer through telepathy.
Moving closer, David cautiously sat at a small round table near her. All the while never taking his eyes off of her.
Bela watched, and played. Under closer inspection, he could see how hard her skin looked. He was almost surprised that when she moved, her skin didn't have the sound of stone scraping stone. Unlike most vampires, she moved slowly, lazily.
"I've been searching for you for sometime, now." David spoke, for once at a loss for words.
"I know. I decided to let you find me."
David leaned forward, his eyes intense. "Why?"
Bela chuckled softly. David could feel it in his bones. "I like you."
Startled, David sat back. "You know who I am?"
"Yes. I know all about you, David." she paused, seeming to measure her words. "It is because of your past that I let you come in here."
"If you let me find you, why did you make it so difficult?" he asked, sitting forward again.
"To see if you really wanted it or not. To see if my history is really that important to you. It must be...you fought against many to get here." Bela spoke of his arguments with the others. Even Lestat tried to dissuade him. Lestat-the vampire that gloried in doing what wasn't good for him. Imagine.
"They're afraid of you. Your link to Akasha has them worried." David mentioned lightly. "That your shared past with her may effect them."
Bela was amused and irritated. Those fools. Her past with Akasha was just that. The past. Her choice to remain separate had nothing to do with that. Or them. Bela shot that thought off to David, who winced at her tone.
"I just speak what they feel. I'm here because of you. Your life is a mystery. Your existence, for that matter, is a mystery. I want to know it. I want to know you. And I want to chronicle your story. So that the others may learn from you."
"What makes you think that I have anything to teach?" she asked, curious. Imagine that, she thought.
"Of course you do!" David exclaimed. "You've lived centuries. You were close with Akasha...The first of our kind. You lived with her for years. Of all the vampires living today, you are the one who'd know her best. You could fill in the gaps. Perhaps shed some light on the travesty that she caused."
Bela was silent. She was so still that if David didn't know better, he'd have sworn she was a statue. How could she explain the pain that still coursed through her body when she thought of Akasha. She had been everything to her. And she had been the one thing she'd ever believed in. The one woman to shape her whole being. Her one lover that would forever be her most painful memory. "I was asleep when she woke." Bela murmured, her voice sad.
David sat forward again. "I know I'm risking a lot by asking you this, but would you like to tell about it?"
Bela looked up sharply. "To be so eager to dip into one's past can seem...a little rude."
David just smiled sheepishly. "True. And normally, I can stop myself from prying. But for some reason, I feel a little pressured. Many want to stop me...and will most likely rage that I even met you. If I've offended you, please accept my apologies." He announced, his British accent crisp in his sincerity.
Bela smiled at him, shook her head, then glanced at the barkeeper. With a quick mental signal, the tavern was cleared. Looking around in, David sent a questioning glance at Bela. "It's my place." she said, for the first time aloud. It must have been some time she she communicated this way, since her voice was husky and soft. She placed the guitar off to the side, then stood. Her body, though small, was lean and compact. Raking her fingers through her mass of hair, she looked into the fire, seeing the past as clearly as if she were there. "If I tell you, David, of my life..you must promise me one thing."
"You can ask most anything from me, Bela. I believe in fair trade."
Smiling, she sat near the fire. "I wish that you express my desire to stay away from the others, to your friends. I wish that they will leave me be. I have no desire to see or speak to any of them. You, on the other hand, will be fine...for the time being."
"Why don't you wish to see the others? Does a solitary life suit you?" he asked, perplexed. To be alone, for years at a time, would drive him mad. Picking up that thought without effort, Bela nodded.
"True, for most it would. And there was a time that I believed myself to be quite literally insane. I sleep, David. For centuries at a time. The bane of my existence as always been that. Existence. I did not care for it. Now, I wake to find myself in this intriguing century. A new millennia has passed, and for almost half of it, I missed. Either by sleeping or staying by myself."
"But why would you do that? Miss the changes. The way humans have grown. Evolved."
At that, Bela laughed, delighted in him. "Do you think humans have changed? They've made great accomplishments, yes. But in all, the only thing that's changed is the extremes they use in killing each other. The basic desires are still their driving force, same as it was when I was a mortal child." She sat cross-legged by the fire, her black eyes amused."Don't get me wrong, David. I don't hate humans. Boredom tends to set in when you've been around before the Pharaohs became inventive."
David sat by Bela, and turned his mini-recorder on. "Shall we start then? Tell me about your childhood." he started asked.
Bela leaned forward, her eyes intense. "Why don't I show you instead."
To be continued...
I plan on making this into a new series...I'm very fond of them. I can never just let a story end. Bela is an intriguing character, and I have tons of plans for her. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me at: FierceMist@aol.com
