9 A new life

"So how did I get it under control?" I asked.

"I was getting to that part," answered the girl. "During the period when you were terrorizing the country, we hypnotized around sixteen Xaj's to help us find a cure for you. Now there was no cure to vampires running wild syndrome, so Enzo decided that we reverse your vampiric nature so you'd be human again. We didn't know if it would work as it had never been done before, but anything was better than nothing. The rituals were set, the Xaj's brought and the enchantments being cast."

My stomach grumbled causing the girl to smile at me, "I see your appetite is back. Enzo would soon be back with a meal for you to eat."

"Oh there's no need for it, everything I eat tastes like iron and sand," I frowned.

"That only happens when you turn for the first time," she answers. "After your first kill your body stabilizes and normal human food starts to taste good again."

"But you just said that I have been a vampire for ten thousand years," I argued. "How am I turning into a vampire for the first time?"

"I was getting to that part smart pants," she chuckled nudging me lightly. "The enchantments to turn you into a human required human life. You had been turned into a vampire when you were sixteen, so the goal was to make you a human baby so it would be easier to extract mother's spell from you. With each human year knocked off your years, one Xaj would die. This went on until you were a year old leaving one Xaj alive to complete the spells. She completed the enchantments successfully turning you human before dying out herself."

I felt bad for the women who had to be sacrificed for my rampage. I must have really terrorized the entire country in a horrific way for my name to be included into legends and mythology.

"Ramul lifted you into his arms as he found you human. Enzo wanted to have you killed to avoid your powers from coming back, but Ramul and I opposed it. We fought him until he gave up expressing his disdain towards us before leaving. Since you were now human, there was no possibility of you becoming a vampire unless you were turned into one which we avoided by marking this town as our territory chasing away any Fledgling or Pioneer vampires from coming close to you. Ramul had you hypnotized, wiping away your memories to keep you safe before dropping you off at a monastery where you were to live out your life as a human."

The girl stood to her feet stretching lazily, "Every spell has a loophole. Since you had been human for sixteen years before becoming a vampire ten thousand years ago, we hadn't considered it to be a possibility that you'd turn back into a vampire after being human for years during this present time. I mean look at it, you're sixteen and your vampiric natures are coming back."

I understood her points now. My powers were coming back as if I was a fledgling when in reality my vampiric ability had never been taken away instead they had been suppressed until I had turned sixteen.

"So am I a Primordial, Pioneer or a fledgling?"

"You're a Primordial, you've always been a Primordial," she remarked. "All we ever did was try to avoid another rampage by cancelling out your powers, but mother's spells were just too strong."

"What's the difference between the three?" I stood from the ground walking to the middle of the field. "I mean, we're all just vampires with the same abilities."

She burst out laughing, holding her stomach as she did so, "You're funny I'll give you that much."

"There's a difference?" I asked astonished by her reaction.

"Well yeah, a huge difference," she started. "First off, a fledgling is just as strong as a hundred men or so they say. They're fast and can appear as a blur but they can still be killed by the ordinary vampiric ways."

"You mean with the Vladian swords mixed with enchantments, decapitation, exposure to the sun, magical rune stakes to the heart, blessed water from the streams of Tallily and the Obidiah fruit."

She looked at me amazed, "Yeah. I guess you growing up in the monastery had something to do with your..."

"Yeah I read a lot so... yeah," I answered smiling at the girl. "What about Pioneers?"

"Patience my darling sister, one vampire group at a time," she smiled skipping across the field merrily. "Fledglings would remain fledglings for at least a thousand years before they would be upgraded to the Pioneer stage. Now there's no much difference between the two groups apart from the Pioneers having the strength of a thousand men due to their aged vampiric physique."

"Are they still affected by the sun and other normal vampire weapons?"

"Yes they are," she answered. "Pioneers are the highest version of vampires you can get to before you know you're strong enough to go up against demigods and other foes. The Williams family are the leaders of the Pioneers as they were the creators of the vampires you see running around."

"If the Pioneers are the highest versions of being a vampire, what about us?"

She spun around with her robe flowing in the wind, "We're the gods of vampirism since we created the Williams family who in turn created other vampires."

"Oh," I noted. "So do we have the same weaknesses too?"

She stopped spinning falling to the ground laughing, "No we don't. I mean, we're under the sun right now without getting burnt so that's a win for us Primordials."

That was true, I thought remembering that I was still under the morning sun without getting turned to ash.

"And even after being staked in the heart it does nothing to us. Trust me, I've tried it so many times," she heaved. "But we can die. We might be immortal but it doesn't mean we can't be killed."

"How then can Primordials be killed?" I inquired horrified at the thought of a mage using magic on me.

"Don't worry sister, it's not something you should be scared of," she reassured me sitting up from the ground. "Our elder brother Exodus died in the battle against the elder gods after Drake an old god killed him with the fire of creation. There's no one with that ability so there's no need to fear."

"What about the Vladian swords with enchantments?" I said sitting on the ground across her. "The swords produce fire too."

"Yes I'd admit that it is a problem, but there's no need to worry as only about four people in the entire world has such abilities."

I didn't see how she could be so calm about a weapon out there which could kill her.

"What if the four of them decide to come after us?" I reasoned, picking a roach from the ground before it scurried away.

"They won't because two of such Vladians with such abilities are in the Angus family and the other two don't have their swords anymore," she answered. "Well, that's enough talk. Enzo is almost here."

Just as she had finished her statement, he blurs into the field with a plate wrapped in cloth which looked like a lunchbox.

"Sorry I'm late," he apologized. "Had to simmer the meat a little bit longer."

He walked up to me sitting on the ground beside me handing me a lunchbox, "Here, you'll need your strength."

Taking it from the man, I opened the box to find lamb chops arranged into careful pieces, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he said handing me a spoon. "How does it taste?"

Still skeptical about the whole taste bud thing, I scooped up a piece of the rice, putting it into my mouth as the taste I had longed for came back with full force.

"Well...?" he asked impatiently Umbras face lit with excitement. "What does it taste like?"

I breathed out being grateful to the gods for giving me my taste buds back, "It tastes like home."