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Chapter 7



Eldastared at the man. He represented everything that had gone wrong for her kind in Europe, and now he was kneeling before her, defenseless, putting himself at her mercy. He had to know what she was, or else he would not be acting like this. Furthermore, how did he get past the wards? Was it this woman? Was it Jean-Claude? Jean-Claude wanted to interfere, but he realized what the friar was doing, and let it go. However, he did say to Elda,"The choice is yours, Elda. It would be sad if you gave into hate, though."

"Hate, child," she said, "I have every reason to hate."

"Love your enemies, Elda,"said Jean-Claude, "You must show that you are better than what others had done. He certainly is showing that he is not what you once faced."

"Why does it always have to be that difficult!" she said, as she turned on her heel and growled. She then began to mutter, "You humans are becoming more confusing all the time!"

Calera did not know what to say, so she just said, "Come in."



They entered the main room, and Ai sat in horror as Neko hissed. However, Jean-Claude said, "All right, everyone, calm down. He is not here to harm anyone, nor is she."

Yet, Ai said, "But you know what she is, and what she can do!"

She smiled and took a seat, saying, "Fear not, elder one! Mama Clarice means no harm to anyone."

Karin then said, "You believed them?"

"I can read like you can," he said, "and Ialready know that they are not lying. This is Clarice, and this is Brother Antonio of the order of the Franciscans. They both have their reasons for being here. Clarice, pleas go ahead."
"Thank you, child," she said, "The reason why I come is simple. Nature abhors a vacuum, and it does not like to stagnate. Nature is always moving and reinventing herself. What was normal in one era will not be normal in the next, or in the past. There are changes taking place that I feel should have taken place some time ago, but those of power hungry spirits, or those who despised change, and could not handle it, fought against those things. For both of them, change means a loss of power and a loss of personal security. When those that resist change emerge, war or persecution is usually the result. Now, in your kind, I understand that there was a risk of extinction. You, (pointing to Karin,) were the key to this, from what Jean-Claude tells me. You still make blood, but not to where you have to expend much now. You were able to save the day, were able to give to all what they needed, and now you can still give over some in store for future generations, just in case. This, of course, shortened your life; however, there is still an air of mystery of your life span. Then again, how long does any of us have? Anyway, nature preserved you, but the second piece of the puzzle comes in here. This comes in him, (pointing to Jean-Claude.) Nature has chosen him as the catalyst for change of unification, because the human has grown, the human has learned, but the vampire still needs to learn. The human can now accept things like what you are, or they can learn to accept. Your actions here culled out the deadweight nature wanted gone, and this allowed for all that you and your friends are attempting. Karin, you and your love are the next piece to the puzzle. This is a marriage of two worlds, and a chance for something good."

Brother Antonio chimed in at this point, saying, "There is much damage from the human world that I wish to help undo."

The vampires all looked askance at this, considering who was speaking. It was those of his ilk that had cause so much harm to their kind, and now he was speaking about healing rifts. He then said, "I know that sounds odd coming from me, but you must understand that resistance to change even hurt us. The order to which I belong had a founder that understood things, and tried to make changes. If they had listened to him, there would have been no need for a reformation. However, by this point, Romewas very corrupt, and they were power hungry. Rather than listen to Francis of Assisi, they stuck him out in the woods somewhere, near the small villages. Thus, when the humans would not listen to him, he preached to the animals. Oddly enough, they would listen! He was at peace with God, and He and Francis were on 'talking terms.' However, if they had listened, and allowed for change, there would have been no reformation, no bloodshed from Protestant wars, many people would still be alive, innovations in science would have come far faster, and, perhaps the kind of misunderstanding and persecution that your kind faced would have been brought to a low. Francis was not about being militant; he was about loving, not just his fellow man, but also his fellow creature. I'm not talking about being and extreme environmentalist, but I am talking about using and not abusing. I truly believe that, if Francis had been introduced to your kind-the right way-he would have accepted you as just another needful part of God's creation and God's plan. Sadly, it did not work out this way. Much wrong has been done. I want to make penance by attempting to aid in the upcoming problems. I know this will never bring back loved ones, fix what was broken so long ago, but I do believe that it can show that, even we can get it right, and try to make it right, if we are given the chance."

The room sat silent for a good two minutes, as the vampires stared at the pair, and Elda paced the room, not sure what to make of this man. He then spoke again, "Even if you never forgive me, and even if you still want to kill me, even if you tell me to get out and never return, I am still going to help you, for it is no longer in me to return hate for hate. I only know how to love, and how to see justice done."

Eldafinally spoke, saying, "How can you, a mere human, think you can act to aid us?"

He laughed, smiled, and said, "With me, it is impossible, but with God, all things are possible!"

"Amen," said Jean-Claude, "I feel the Spirit, sir!"

Clarice then said, "So, what do you say?"

Ai and Elda still did not know if they could trust, and did not know what to say. That is when Antonio, as if he was reading their minds, said, "If you wish to vent on me, telling me how wrong we were, and how angry you are, please, let it out. I feel we deserve at least that much. I only ask that you would please keep it verbal, for I have done nothing to you personally, and it is wrong to visit the sins of my ancestors on me, who has done you no harm himself."

Ai finally piped up, and said, "Oh yeah you deserve more than a tongue lashing!"

However, Calera put a hand in front of her, and said, "I forbid you to shed blood in this house, and if you take him out of this house to do it, you are no longer welcome here! I would think long and hard before you defy me, what that would entail!"

Ai stiffened, growled in frustration, and then let loose verbally, as did Elda. They both talked of the atrocities that they had seen and experienced, all the wrongs that had been done, all the pain that it had caused, and how much they deserved to die. They told them how evil they were, and how they did not deserve to exist, calling them one various colorful metaphor or another. This went on for a good ten minutes, until the both of them were exhausted. Jean-Claude thought all this weird, at first. Then he began to watch the two of them as they exhausted themselves, and run out of things to say. He then realized what Antonio was doing. After they took their seats, completely spent, he then said, "Now that you have gotten things off your chest, I have to ask you: did any of your pent up anger from centuries past to me make any of that past change?"

They sat silent, knowing that he knew the answer. He then asked, "Would killing me, and any of my kind you meet change any of that?"

Again, the question was met with silence, as if it had been rhetorical. He then asked, "Does your staying angry change anything that happened?"

Instead of waiting for the answer, he then said, "No matter what you do, that will never change the fact that things happened, and there is absolutely nothing that anyone can do about it, no matter how much you think you avenge. You may think it makes you feel better, but the pain shall NEVER go away, and it will NEVER change what happened. However, every day is a new day. Just because things happened yesterday does not mean that I have to have it happen today or tomorrow. I made the decision long ago to insure that I never bring the bitterness of the day before into the day in which I now live. For me, life is too short, and I want to enjoy as much of it as I can before I go to the next world. I make the choice to say that today will not be like yesterday, and what happened yesterday has no bearing on my choices to day. It is one day at atime. Just because someone did you wrong yesterday it does not mean that it will happen today. It may, but it may not? How do you know? The only thing we can do is choose how we react to it. I choose not to make the mistake of my forerunners, and I choose to do it differently than they did from now on. You can too. If you continue to hate, you are no better than they that wronged you-no...better! You defeat them by saying, 'I will hold my head up despite the hate. I shall not hate in return!'

Not only do you defeat them, but as the Good Book says, you dump hot coals on their head, proverbially speaking!"

He then knelt before them, extended his hand, and said, "On behalf of all that have come before, and now are, I ask your sincerest forgiveness for everything that has happened, and I want to help you from this day forward. Let there be peace!"

All this was transpiring just as Henry, Ren, and Chiyuki were entering. They, by their enhanced hearing, heard the whole of the conversation, so they were not shocked at the sight. Chiyuki wanted to be angry, but after hearing those words, how could she be? If Ren was a mark of how people could change, maybe there was a possibility that the humans could change as well. In fact, here was one of their sworn enemies begging forgiveness for atrocities centuries before, wanting to make things right, even at the risk of his own life. After about 30 seconds of silence, both Henry and Anjou approached, took his hand, and said, "On behalf of all that have gone before of our kind," and he was interrupted by Elda, who also took his hand, and added, "and on behalf of James Marker, who would have adored you," Anjou then took over saying, "We accept your apology and your help. Let there be peace."

Some felt like they should applaud, yet, they left it alone, considering that, it just did not seem appropriate. With that, Clarice said, "Now, let me give you an education in my beliefs, and what you face, so that you will know how to deal with things."



Meanwhile, Papa Mimoun awaited the arrival of his kind. In the interim, he wanted to fulfill on his promise of the demonstration of his power. That next morning, he went to the bookstore that Maki now ran, and in which Wiener assisted in the running. They themselves were going to wed, but they were waiting for things to be a bit better financially before they did. Mimoun did not enter the place, he just watched out of sight. He then saw them head out the door, and walk towards Julian's. Of course, he did not know this, but when he saw them enter, he figured that this would be the best time to act. He slipped in, saw what they had ordered, and then slipped to the landing area where the meals would be picked up and delivered. He then put something into the meals, and slipped out. Maki and Wiener ate, completely unaware as to the danger they faced. They then went back to the apartment to talk abit about business, and some issues to the store. However, they had only sat for about fifteen minutes, when they both began to feel weak and drowsy. They both saw the looks on each the other's face, and began to panic. However, before they could get to a phone, they both collapsed onto the floor. Not five minutes before this happened, Mimoun moved in. He ensured that there were no witnesses, went in, put the two of them in garment bags, dragged them both downstairs, and put them both onto a rolling cart that he had obtained for this situation. Normally, they waited for someone to find them, declare them dead, bury them, and dig them up later. However, that was all in an attempt to gain what they wanted, and have no one look for the victims, that they could have their slaves unhindered. He wanted them to be discovered, and he wanted them to experience the shock that they would receive when their friends seem to turn against them when they are found. They would soon learn to respect the power of the bokor.



The next morning, Karin received a call at the house from Maki's mother. She was frantic. Maki had not arrived to open the shop, nor was she in her apartment. There was no sign of forced entry, or astruggle, so she was at a loss as to what had happened. At that precise moment, Jean-Claude was receiving a call from Victor, saying that his grandson never came home, and he still had not called. The last he had been seen was with Maki, and that was it. He thanked him for the information, and went to seek out Karin and find out what she knew. They both met each other coming out of their respective residences, and both spoke of their respective calls. Instantly, they knew it was foul play-it had to be-and they could make a pretty safe bet as to who was behind the disappearances. They both headed over to Maki's place to look for clues.



Meanwhile, Mimoun was placing certain herbs and juices into their mouths, and they began to revive. However, their expressions were blank, and the skin of both of them was pale. Mimoun then said, "Now the two of you listen carefully, because you will both obey my commands. You two have some work to do, and I want it concise and swift."

With that, he began to instruct the two zombies of their tasks. They were not to kill anyone yet, but they were to cause some hurt to get their attention. The only thing he worried about was ripples he was feeling of resistance coming from the outside. It was not just from one of the Loa that he feared resistance, but there was another one, a rouge factor, that he could not place. He wondered just what it meant, and he was bent on finding out. If he could use these two to gain that information, then they would have more than served their purpose. It was time for the lessons to begin.