"So chaste in mind, lovely Michel, if not in body," she says, glee in her voice. "So noble, so dedicated to your vows. How impressed would your Pope be if he could see your resistance? Do you not know that through the years, priests, bishops and even popes have married or hadconcubines?"
"We're all sinners," Michel says. "We struggle each day with our basedesires."
"You're a fool. God made you a man with desires. Why would He then deny them? Even many of the Apostles were married. You're aroused by what these women are doing to you. Why fight? You're not a priest any longer. Notnow."
"Why are you doing this to me?" He turns to me. "Julien, why are you lettingher?"
Marguerite goes to the side of thebed.
"Don't blame your sweet brother," she says. "He has no free will when he's with me just as you'll have none. I'm doing this to you in part because I want you for myself. Imagine – beautiful identical twin vampires to stay with me forever. My Sire abandoned me and what choice do I have? Now, I'll have a man of God and a strong knight to protect me. God's had you long enough, beautiful priest and He's wasting you." She sits on the edge of thebed.
"Do you enjoy seeing me shamed?" Michel says, his voice breaking. "Seeing me break myvows?"
She smiles sweetly. "Why, yes, I do. I love seeing your shame, Michel. I know it hides your lust and it's that lust that Iwant."
Michel grimaces and grips his head, squeezing his eyes shut and I know he's starting to feel the need. A need he doesn't yet understand but which will consume his life from this dayforward.
"What's wrong with me?" hesays.
"You're dead, as the girl said." Marguerite leans closer to him. "You need only drink blood to complete the transformation. I've brought these girls for you. Pick one and drink her blood. Becomeimmortal."
"If I were dead, I'd be with God in Heaven," he says, shaking hishead.
"Forget your god and forget heaven." She waves a hand. "It's a lie told by old men to keep you in their thrall. I'm offering you real immortality. Stop being obedient to some distant and tyrannical god and become one instead. It is we who are the gods. We are the ones who choose those who live and those whodie."
"You corrupted Julien aswell?"
"Yes." She nods. "I'm turning you for him, sweet Michel, although he doesn't want it. Julien loves you so much despite your betrayal of your family that he begged me not to turn you, to leave you to your god. But I want you and one day he'll thank me. Now, drink their blood," she says and motions to the girls. "Live forever with Julien at yourside."
"No," he says. "I won't. I'd rather burn in Hell than be amonster."
She shrugs. "So be it. You'll suffer a long and slow death if you don't soon drink. Your body will start to wither, your breath sucked out of you. Pain will be all you know. The process will take several days, perhaps a week but you will be dead, and there will be no heaven for you. Just a bed of worms." She rises and motions to the two girls to follow. "Call me when you change yourmind."
* * *
In the end,it's his love for me that convinces Michel to relent. He was prepared to die, to endure the pain but I kneel at his bedside for days on end, my hands clasped around his, weeping like a boy for him not to leaveme.
"Forgive me," I say, choking with emotion. "I tried to stop her. She has such power over me. I tried, Michel. I really tried but God has forsaken usboth."
Michel finally reaches out a hand to me, stroking my head as if in ablessing.
"I won't forsake you," hewhispers.
By then, he's too weak to take a mortal himself, and so I drain one of the girls and capture her blood in a chalice – one from the altar at theBasilica.
Just one more sacrilege to accompany therest.
He drinks and becomesimmortal.
* * *
Iclosethe manuscript and cover my eyes for a moment, overcome by what I've read. It's almost midnight and I'm tired, my mind horrified. I can't help but feel grief for Michel – for both these brothers turned by a vampire against their will. No wonder he didn't want to read this to me – it shows him being murdered on the altar in his church, then assaulted by those women and that despite his horror, he responded tothem.
The love the brothers feel for each other despite their break comes through loud and clear and now I'm curious about their fate over the years. The manuscript is thick and I can't wait to read more but I'm tired. I put it away and stand at the window for a moment, remembering Michel, thinking about everything that's happened since that fateful message Iposted.
I remind myself that I'm hoping to become a vampire hunter and my role is to find them and condemn those who reject the treaty, not know them – figuratively and for real – out of morbidcuriosity.
And of course, the ultimate goal of my work will be to find a cure and end vampirism once and forall.