Court of the Shifter Chapter 4

“Yeah, come in,” I called out, and I pulled myself into a sitting position and twisted my back to the right and left to pop it. The book I was reading fell from my lap to the bed as I moved, and I adjusted it so it sat properly.

Then the door opened, and in walked Zolas. He was in a white and cream patterned blouse and black trousers that came up to his navel, and his shirt was tucked in loosely and draped over the edge of his pants slightly. Delicate gold jewelry hung from his ears and neck, and his long fingers were decorated in rings.

“Great rising to you, Eli. I see you found the book I left you.” Zolas smiled in the doorway as he held another gold tray in his hands, and I glanced at the bedside table to see my dinner had been cleaned away, and fresh water was in the jug with a new and empty glass next to it.

“Morning, Zolas,” I said. “Wait, you left the book?”

“Well, it’s not everyday books get up and walk around on their own, though I have seen it happen a time or two.” The light-haired vampire walked into the room, and he closed the door behind him with his bare foot before he approached the bed and set the tray near me. “I figured I’d bring you breakfast and see how you liked it.”

“How did you know I read it?” I asked as I accepted the platter and pulled it close to me carefully.

“Other than seeing it in your lap, and you telling me just now?” Zolas laughed lightly. “You’re a curious man, I can tell that just by looking at you. Besides, you’re an Ulvant. You would’ve been able to sense that book from a mile away if you knew of it to begin with.”

“Well, I wasn’t able to actually read it,” I chuckled, and then I motioned around the room with my hand. “Please, make yourself comfortable. I have some questions for you about the book.”

“That is why I am here. Curious men don’t find a trove of information and leave without questions.” Zolas smirked as he went to the red velvet chaise below one of the windows and stretched out on it. He propped his feet up on one end, held his head in his hands on the other, and then let out a content sigh.

I almost asked Zolas how he seemed to know me so well, but then I remembered he saw visions of me way before I knew of his existence.

I’d given the mystic that one.

And, I had to admit, it was nice to have a friend in all of this crazy.

I turned my attention to the food next to me, and then I lifted the lid off the tray to reveal two large, fried, seasoned eggs, three strips of crispy bacon, and two crepes dusted with lightly powdered sugar, lemon zest, and honey with a dollop of cream on the side.

“Okay, first question: who the hell is the chef around here?” I asked with a wide grin.

“The queen actually hired a Nulmancer to train here once my visions were further confirmed,” he said as he studied the nails of his left hand. “From what we have found through research, Nulmancers are very similar in many ways to what you consider a ‘human.’ She wanted to ensure your transition went as smoothly as possible, including your diet.”

“Queen Seraphine would have a fit if she saw how I actually ate,” I snickered as I thought back to the stacks of Cup o’ Ramen I kept in the cabin at work. “But… that’s very kind of her. I’ll have to thank her when I see her next.”

“Careful, young shifter,” Zolas said with a sly grin. “The queen might eat you up if you keep up the charm.”

“Oh, for sure, Zolas,” I laughed, and then I broke off a piece of bacon before I used my other hand to flip open the book. “What’s the title of this book, anyway?”

“‘The History of Azurantha and Jarvald,’” he recited.

“Are they who the man and woman are?” I asked. “The one’s pictured throughout the book?”

“Yes.” Zolas nodded. “Azurantha is our goddess, as you heard about last night. And Jarvald is the god and patron of the shifters.”

“Wait.” I looked up at the vampire with raised eyebrows. “A vampire and a shifter--”

“Fell in love, yes,” he said as he sat up, and then he folded his hands in his lap as his hair fell off his shoulders.

“But I thought… Okay, so they fell in love and had a child that was both shifter and vampire?” I asked.

“Well, yes, but they also had many other children, too,” Zolas said. “They’re not depicted in the story because many of them were sent out into the world far and wide to procreate. That is why they are considered the matron and patron of the two species.”

“And their other children… weren’t both?” I asked.

“No, and that is why their mixed child was so controversial, and why this particular book focuses on the child’s story rather than the whole family,” he sighed. “Because this was the start of the end. For everyone.”

“What do you mean?” I pulled my eyebrows together in confusion. It was overwhelming, but I was also trying to learn generations of information in a fraction of the time the people here had.

“I think there might be a better way to explain this.” Zolas said, and then he stood. “Why not after you finish your breakfast, I take you on a tour? That way, I can answer your questions and lead you to the library at the same time.”

“Sounds good.” I smiled, and I glanced down to see most of my plate still left. “If you want to give me, like, five minutes, I can be ready.”

“I didn’t mean to rush you--” Zolas started, and he held up his hands in a gentle motion.

“No, I want to learn,” I said, and then I finished off a crepe, poured myself a glass of water, and took a few small sips.

“I’ll wait outside the door for you, then,” he chuckled, and he shook his head to himself before he vanished into thin air.

Guess vampires didn’t always use doors.

I didn’t know how I’d get used to that shit, but I’d take it one step at a time.

I stook and went to the armoire, and then I pulled a shirt off a hanger and pants from a lower shelf. I pulled my sleep pants off, folded them, set them on the bed, and changed into day clothes. Afterwards, I slipped on the shoes in the wardrobe, and everything seemed to fit me like it was tailored just for my size and shape. I looked myself over in the mirror that hung from the armoire door before I closed it.

Huh. Not too shabby, Eli.

I shook my head before I walked back to my breakfast platter and took a bite of the crepes. They melted in my mouth, and they were just the right amount of sweet for the morning. The pancakes had a bit of lemon in them as well, and the citrus helped cut the sweetness of the honey and sugar.

“God, this is so fucking good.” I scarfed down a few more bites before I grabbed the book and left the room.

Zolas was down the hall a bit admiring a painting, and when I approached him, I realized it was a painting of Cal.

“She’s pretty, no?” he asked as his eyes darted to me.

“Is that a trick question?” I said, and then I followed Zolas as he turned on his heel and headed toward the staircase to go down a level.

“I think she looks like a dog,” Zolas said, but my disagreement must have shown on my face, because he burst out laughing. “I’m kidding. Cal and I were practically raised together. I came here to train under Master Leon years ago after my parents died. We were both young, so we clicked. She’s like my sister, really.”

“Was Master Leon the royal mystic before you?” I asked.

“Yes, and he was great at his work, too.” He nodded. “Well respected, and he barely had a blemish on his heart. He was a good man with pure intentions, and he treated me like a son.”

“He sounded like a wonderful man to work under,” I said.

“Oh, he was, but nevermind all that,” Zolas laughed and shook his head, and then he held out his hand. “Let me see the book, please.”

“Here you go,” I said as I placed the book in his open palm.

“Ah, here,” he said after a moment of flipping through the pages, and he pointed his index finger to a passage on the page as he read aloud and led me through the halls. “‘Azurantha and Jarvald spent many of their years in bliss as their family and their land grew. Vampires and shifters came together and lived harmoniously with their appointed king and queen, who produced many offspring either yielding the power of the matron or the patron, and this maintained a balance within their respective peoples. Many of their children went on to become lords and ladies of their own established lands. Many peoples migrated and gathered together-- vampires, shifters, Fae, Nulmancers, the witches of the bogs, and the elves of the forests-- and the nation of Vosshif Terran was soon born.’”

“Until they had the one child,” I sighed, and I followed him down the set of stairs.

“A Vafshora, a ‘mixed child,’ correct, which is right…” Zolas turned over a few more pages, stopped when he caught sight of the page with the creepy figure, scanned the text, and then nodded to himself. “Yes, here: ‘On the eleventh day of the eleventh month, the Mother Matron gave birth to a child who carried both the blood and the powers of Azurantha and Jarvald. The child was born with swirling eyes of crimson and silver, a symbol of the child’s heritage. The lovers were elated, for the child was healthy and strong, and the realm of possibilities had thus been thrust open with the birth of their newest offspring.’”

“I see.” I nodded to myself, and then I swerved out the way of a staff member as we rounded a corner. “So everything was relatively fine until genetics stepped in. Did it mention it was female or male?”

“Because of the child’s identity, Azurantha and Jarvald took extra steps to maintain the child’s safety,” Zolas said. “Which included revealing neither its name or its sex.”

“That makes sense from a parent’s perspective, wanting to keep your child safe and all,” I said, and then I motioned to the dark figure in the illustration. “But then how does this evil bastard come into play?”

“Because there is always an element of chaos that we can’t control and work very hard to predict,” the vampire answered in a stoic tone, and then he closed the book over his finger. “And that is a matter of nature. Second, the bastard in question was Ikrashka Malonet, a master of magic. He worked with the family for years, and as the child grew, the sorcerer gained an unhealthy obsession with the child’s magical potency.”

“No.” I widened my eyes in disbelief. “Don’t tell me this grown man killed a child out of jealousy.”

This was some real Game of Thrones shit.

“Malonet was already headed down a slippery slope when he came to work for the king and queen. Down there is the kitchen, by the way.” Zolas pointed down a small corridor that emptied into an open door. “Anyway, when the child turned sixteen, they fell in love with another vampire. Malonet caught the adolescent heir, well… being an adolescent, and he killed both the child and their lover.”

“What the fuck?” I breathed, and after a moment, I turned to the page with the illustration of Azurantha and Jarvald being torn away from each other. “So, what happened next?”

A solemn expression flickered across Zolas’ features, but it disappeared just as quick as it had arrived.

“The lovers, after ridding of Malonet and those associated with him, were so stricken with grief they cursed the rest of their bloodline to hate each other so their children would not feel the pain they felt,” the mystic explained. “There are later accounts such as personal written entries that tell us Azurantha and Jarvald both felt their love led to their own child’s demise, so the curse was their self-inflicted punishment.”

“They cursed themselves to protect their children?” I asked.

“So the tale goes.” Zolas nodded. “Anyone who was there is no longer alive to tell it.”

“How-- okay, well, how do shifters and vampires even have children?” I asked. “Is it like hum-- I mean, nulmancers?”

“I was waiting for you to ask that question!” The vampire grinned, and then we turned down another hall that ended in black grand double doors illuminated by aza orbs. “And now for my favorite part of the tour.”

Zolas reached for the doorknobs and pushed them open.

A gust of cool wind rushed past us, and a massive library several stories high filled my view. I could see all the way to the skylight through several catwalks that blocked the natural light, and from a large wooden beam hung a chandelier even more intricate and gorgeous than the one in the royal family’s office. Dark mahogany shelves lined the walls and created rows upon rows of books, artifacts, and scrolls. Spiral staircases led to the upper levels at various spots, but an extra large staircase was featured at the back of the room as a focal point. Aza orbs illuminated every little hallway and corner, but there was still a darkness and air of mystery within the walls. The energy of the library was ancient in and of itself, and I could smell the bound leather of the books, the old paper pages, and if I concentrated enough, I swore I could smell the ink of the texts itself.

“Holy shit, dude.” I exhaled as I looked around in absolute awe. “This is amazing.”

“You’ve never been to a library before?” Zolas asked, and the tone in his voice told me his question was genuine.

“I have, but nothing like this,” I said. “Only in pictures or drawings, anyway. The library in my hometown is about the size of my guest room and bathroom combined.”

“Well, while you are here in Marbrooke, you are welcome to explore our library all you’d like,” Zolas laughed, and then he turned on his heel and led me toward one of the spiral staircases to our left.

“Thank you.” I smiled as I jogged to catch up to him.

We walked up two flights of stairs before Zolas stepped off the landing and took a sharp turn into the depths of the bookcases.

“So, uh, are we looking for something here?” I asked as the white-haired vamp seemed to glance up and down a long row of shelves.

“We are here for a particular piece of literature. Let’s see, let’s see… Look for a black-spined book with metallic red lettering in the outline of a mountain range with a sun. It should be in this section, here.”

We came to a stop, and he used his hands to motion to the twenty-five-foot shelving unit he was referring to.

“Got it.” I nodded. “Do you think it could be up top?”

“Perhaps.” Zolas tapped his finger to his chin. “I’ll look up there while you look down here.”

“How would you--” I started as I looked around for a ladder, but then Zolas shifted into nothingness once more.

I glanced around for a moment before I turned my gaze upward, and I saw him hovering in the air with his legs tucked as if he was sitting criss-cross. His eyes scanned the spines of the books on the top shelf, and he balanced in the air as if he was on a flat surface.

“Oh. Like that. Because you’re a magic vampire. Got it.” I snorted to myself, and then my eyes fell on the books in front of me.

I heard the soft echo of Zolas’ poorly-stifled chuckle, and I smirked to myself in amusement as I wondered what he meant by the words in the outline of a mountain range. I scanned through the varying browns and creams of the spines in front of me, and then I understood what he meant when I found a white book with black lettering on the side.

The way in which the words connected matrixed into what looked like the outline of a snake with a crown on its head and a bunch of extra lines added to it.

“Found anything yet?” I asked quietly to the vampire above.

“No,” Zolas sighed. “I have found several interesting pieces, though.”

I glanced up to see a neat pile of about three or four books hovering next to Zolas.

If I could’ve read them, I would’ve made a to-be-read pile for myself.

I took a step back and looked up the shelf about ten feet in the air. Then I noticed there was a book turned the wrong way, and the spine was on the inside rather than the outside.

“Now why would someone do that?” I asked myself.

I looked around for a ladder, but then I remembered I wasn’t exactly human anymore. I didn’t think I could levitate like Zolas, but during the fight in town, I’d noticed I was much faster and much more agile.

Maybe that could come in handy here.

I looked up at the odd book, and then in one swift movement, I crouched down and launched myself toward the bookshelf. I used one of the lower horizontal shelves as leverage, catapulted myself up, and grabbed the book off the shelf.

Then I landed on my feet and flipped the book over in my hand.

Hell, yeah. That was fucking awesome.

“I saw that,” Zolas said, and then he lowered himself and his now seven books to the ground. “Nice jump, Eli. You’re quickly becoming more agile.”

“I barely even had to think about it.” I grinned. “I just… did it.”

“Precisely.” The male vampire nodded. “The more powerful you get, the less and less you’ll have to ‘think’ about working with your body and its newfound abilities, and instead it will be natural and fluid.”

“That’s fucking cool as shit.” My grin widened, and then I looked down at the book to see it was black with red metallic symbols on the edge that did, in fact, resemble a mountain range. “Is this it?”

“Intelligent, curious, and intuitive!” Zolas smirked. “My, this will definitely be interesting. Come, let me show you something.”

Zolas plucked the book from my hand with excitement, and his to-be-read pile flittered along after him. He led me to a nearby empty lectern and opened the book on top of it for the both of us, and then he muttered to himself in a language I couldn’t understand as he quickly turned the yellowed pages.

“Ah, here!” he exclaimed as his manicured finger slammed onto the right-hand page.

The whole page was covered in illustrations and intricate, detailed symbols. I noticed the shifter’s symmetrical depiction amongst many others, and the symbols branched off from each other and changed with each tier and branch.

“What is this?” I asked as I furrowed my eyebrows together and leaned in.

“‘Lundjalfi Srenska Bysakh Aj Slejsal,’ or translated, ‘The Origin of Existence.’” A wild, childlike grin spread across Zolas’ features, and his eyes widened with glee. “It is our origin story, the creation of this realm and its existence, its magic, its creatures, and everything within it. This page is a depiction of how our races-- vampires, shifters, Nulmancers, everyone-- came to be and where they originated from.”

“Why were you looking for this?” I asked and turned to him.

“Because…” he said, and he pointed the tip of his nail to the small inscriptions along the branch between the shifter symbol and another one. “This is the symbol for vampires. Homogenous couples have children like nulmancers do: intercourse, fertilization, gestation, birth. But! When it comes to heterogenous couples, such as a shifter and vampire together, that process is a little more complicated. There first must be a connection between the species. Do you see how some symbols for species connect to some and don’t connect to others?”

“Yeah, I do.” I nodded. There was a distinct line connecting vampires and shifters, but there was red text written above the line connecting them. “What does it mean? This connection?”

“Well, for example, a shifter and a vampire must feel a warmth between them for them to even be considered compatible for having children,” Zolas explained. “But it’s not the same for every species. Ah! See here? This is for vampires, and it’s connected to the Fae, but this connection requires a feeling of ecstasy or euphoria to take place for procreation.”

“Wait…” I blinked and ran a hand through my hair. “I mean, this is so fucking interesting, but you said a warmth, right? Warmth has to be felt between a shifter and a vampire for them to be compatible?”

Zolas straightened up his posture and met my gaze with a curious and serious intent. “Yes. Why?”

“Last night, I, uh… I was wandering around, and I found Calantha’s room by accident,” I said with a hint of bashfulness. “She was bathing, but she wanted me to stay, and I could have sworn the bath water got warmer the longer I was in there with her.”

“You don’t say.” The light-haired vampire grinned wildly, and his fangs protruded from his lip.

“What’s that face for?” I asked as I narrowed my eyes, but before I knew it, Zolas sprinted toward the stairs and hopped over the railing.

“Come along, my friend!” he called out with a laugh, and then he landed on his feet as I leaned over the railing with my heart beating out of my chest. “Knowledge awaits!”

“Zolas, wait!” I sighed as I watched him make his way to the door and glance back at me with a smirk on his face. “Fuck.”

Even from there, I could feel Zolas’ chaotic energy radiate off him, and there was something about it that enticed me to follow him, so I took the railing in my hand, hoisted myself up, and swung my legs over. Then I fell two stories and landed on my feet, but I had to tuck and roll to soften the landing.

When I looked up, I chuckled to myself and turned to Zolas, who seemed just as equally surprised and impressed. Then he cocked an eyebrow at me and took off down the hallway.

Challenge accepted.