SCENE IV

This is the Age of Darkness.

She lay still in bed. She didn't have the strength to get up. It terrified her, but at the same time, she was glad she didn't have the strength to think logically or realize how mysterious and bizarre her situation was.

"Are you better now?" Magnus asked, entering the chamber.

"What happened?

" "You lost consciousness. Your Awakening progresses, that's why you're sometimes full of strength, and sometimes you faint, losing your power."

Akasha turned her head away from him and looked at the stone fireplace, already charred on the inside, where the fire burned.

"Mass will be held in an hour. You should get dressed."

"I'm not going anywhere..." she replied quietly but firmly. "I'm going home."

Magnus looked at her in surprise.

"As if you could change anything about being a vampire.

" "I won't let you be initiated. Do you understand?" She continued to stare into the fire, her face never changing its neutral expression.

"Hmmm..." he smiled grimly. "In a hundred years, I don't think anyone has amused me as much as you did today. Akasha, you are one of us! Denying it is against your nature. You're the one who doesn't understand that tonight your life will begin anew!

" "No!" She sat up in bed, but then immediately grabbed a column to prevent herself from falling onto the pillows. "Silence! That's a lie. I can't be a vampire... I can't be one if I never craved blood!

" "You need it now. Without it, you will die...

" "I'd rather die than live as a Vampire!" she burst out, looking him straight in the eye.

Magnus stirred and moved closer to her. With slow, calm steps, he approached the bed and knelt on it, leaning toward her and extending his hand to Akasha. His face didn't change expression for a second.

Akasha was so surprised by what he had done that she didn't react. Magnus touched her delicate, soft skin, then sat down on the bed, his eyes never leaving hers.

"I'll tell you about Lillith..." His hand slowly slid to her neck. "I'll also tell you about the mass you'll be attending..."

Akasha swallowed and nodded hesitantly. She wasn't sure, but she thought she saw a glint of pride and satisfaction in the man's eyes.

"Now listen carefully, for this is the legend of your queen and ours, the Black Priestess, the Mother of Vampires, Lillith..." Magnus looked into the fire burning in the fireplace and was silent for a moment. "When the Earth was still very young, when the world was just beginning its history, God created humans in his own image... It was Adam and Lillith, they came into being simultaneously, with this exception, however, that man was created from dust and earth, and woman from impure elements. Unfortunately, Adam and Lillith never knew peace. For she was too proud and rebellious, she also refused his sexual obedience. When he forcibly sought possession of her, he caused Lillith to utter one of God's forbidden names. This provoked the great wrath of their Creator. Later, Lillith left Paradise, where she had lived until then. She took up residence in a cave by the Red Sea, and fathered demonic children called Lilim." After Lillith left Paradise, Adam prayed to God, saying: "God of this world, Holy God, send the Angels Sanvai, Sansanvai, and Semangelof to bring her to me." They captured Lillith in the desert by the Red Sea and said: "Return to Adam immediately or you will perish by drowning." Lillith asked: "How can I return?" The Angels replied: "Refusal means death." Lillith, however, spoke these words: "How can I die, since God has commanded me to care for infants? I swear to you, therefore, that if the child is guarded by your names, I will spare it." Nevertheless, God punished Lillith by killing a hundred of her demonic children every day... She also did not taste the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, hence her immortal nature. She refused to yield to her unbridled nature and was rewarded by the demon Asmodeus, the demon of luxury, vengeance, and lies. Lillith thus oversees one of the levels of hell, along with Namah, Machlath, and Hurmizah. She rules over women in labor and infant children. She can take boys from their mothers up to eight days after birth, and girls up to twenty days after birth. She is also the mother of Lilim and Liot, Succubi and Incubi... He shifted his calm gaze to her, then stood up. "Prepare now for Mass; it will begin soon."

And then, without a word, he left, certain that Akasha would carry out his command. He was right. Akasha rose from the bed and began to put on a black habit with a wide hood, which she pulled down her back. Sitting by the blazing fire, she began to braid her hair.

Suddenly she heard a strange rustling. It reached her ears from a dark corner of the stone chamber where she slept. She stopped braiding her hair for a moment and looked in that direction. Silence reigned for only a moment, then the rustling began again. Akasha was afraid to even breathe louder, but she remained where she was. Suddenly she saw the dark silhouette of a wolf. It had narrow, gleaming silver eyes and a long muzzle studded with sharp, white teeth. Akasha flinched at the sight of it, but her legs refused to obey. Meanwhile, the wolf approached her and stood in the light of the flames, casting a tall shadow on the unadorned wall.

"Muroni..." she whispered, dropping the comb.

"Welcome," she heard the voice coming from the wolf. "Welcome, Akasha.

" "Greetings, O vampire who can assume animal forms!" she nodded respectfully.

"It's been over half a century since we welcomed a new vampire into our midst, Akasha. This night is a great event for us, for great powers lie dormant within this body." The wolf fell silent and approached her, slowly rubbing his back like a pampered cat, and then lying down on the floor opposite her, his back to the fire. Akasha noticed that even when the light wasn't shining on him, his eyes glittered. "We are happy that fresh blood will flow today on the altar of Great Lillith, and our mother has been awaiting this day for a long time...

" "So you know about me?

" "Of course," she sensed the mockery in his voice. "Of course. Among us are bloodsuckers, canine vampires, and sexual vampires. All this means that we know about almost everything that happens within our Community."

"Why have you come, Muroni?" she asked suspiciously. "No vampire acts selflessly, so you too must have a purpose in coming here..."

The wolf flicked his gray tail nervously, then raised his head slightly.

"Indeed, Akasha, you are one of us," he replied. "Don't worry. This time, Magnus is still too protective of you for me to do anything to you. But soon he will lose his power over you, for your body will be sacrificed to Lillith, and then she will ensure that no one will dictate terms to you..." He rose lazily and turned to the flames. "Soon, Akasha, the call of blood will be heard within you..."

With that, Muroni disappeared, stepping straight into the fire. The room fell silent again. Akasha sat still for a moment, staring at the spot where the wolf had disappeared, then she picked up her comb and, thinking nothing of it, began combing her long hair again...

The door to her chamber opened. She lifted her head and looked at Magnus, who was dressed in dark monk's robes. He approached her wordlessly and helped her to her feet.

"Come with me. It's time."

Then they both left the chamber and followed a dark corridor to a balcony, to the right of which a winding and awkward staircase wound. They both began to descend slowly, then stopped silently in the shadow of one of the columns in the circular hall, a golden pentagram painted in its center. Akasha studied the black candles burning along the lines that formed the pentagram. Furthermore, lamps burned on each of the tall, slender columns throughout the hall. She watched with interest as the hooded figures slowly and almost silently moved along the walls and circled the pentagram. They spoke nothing, their heads hanging low on their chests so that she couldn't see their faces. Once everyone had taken their seats—forty-one of them—standing in a row around the great hall, a heavy silence fell. Suddenly, the door swung open, and a very tall figure in a purple robe entered the hall. She walked slowly, pausing for a moment before one of the candles marking the pentagram's boundary, then stepped inside. At that moment, Akasha felt a gust of wind blowing across the hall on her face. A

moment later, the Priest stepped onto a circular platform, surrounding a stone altar stained with red, already clotted blood. On the altar stood a large chalice, its cup held by a three-fingered paw with long talons. There was also a knife with a long, wavy blade.

The Priest was silent for a moment, looking upwards. There was a vault adorned with a stained-glass window depicting Adam and Eve at the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, and upon it coiled a serpent with a woman's face. Suddenly, the silence was broken by a woman's authoritative voice.

"Lucifer!" the Priestess in the center of the pentagram spoke, followed by everyone in the hall repeating the name of the Fallen Angel. "Shemhazaj! Arearos! Kochab! Ezekiel! Sarakuel!" Samsawiel! Sariel!

Thus the entire Community gathered in the Temple summoned the Fallen Angels. Then, for a split second, silence fell again, in which the loud voices of those gathered echoed hollowly against the high walls of the Sanctuary.

"We are gathered today to honor our lady, whose name is Lillith!" the Priestess said.

"Lillith!" the assembled responded in a mighty chorus, making the gesture of folding their hands before their foreheads.

- Let us say the names that belong to her - at this moment everyone began to say the names of the Black Priestess one by one - Odam, Parca, Patrota, Podo, Satrina, Talto, Abeko, Abito, Amizo, Batna, Eilo, Ita, Izorpo, Kali, Kea, Abro, Abizu, Ajlo, Alu, Amiz, Amizu, Ardad Lilih, Awitu, Bitua, Galu, Gelou, Gilou...

And each time they said one of Lillith's names, they raised their straight hands to their foreheads, joining the tips of their fingers opposite their foreheads.

"Lillith, our mother and friend! Be with us this night, who profess that..." the Priestess began, finishing with the others. "We are vampires. Blood is our food, night is our time. Cursed and chosen, intoxicated by your beauty, we profess our allegiance to you, Lillith, and to your laws, and our allegiance to the nature you have bestowed upon us...

" "Great is Lillith!" the Priestess exclaimed

. "Lillith!" the others chimed in.

"Let us honor the mistress of the senses with dance!

" At that moment, Akasha heard a loud male chant. It was so beautiful and captivating that before she knew it, she began dancing to its rhythm. She wasn't alone. The rest of the participants began dancing as well. Meanwhile, the Priestess stood still, her face hidden beneath a dark hood.

It seemed to Akasha that the choir's chant reached her from all directions, rumbling through every fiber of her being. It was a truly incredible feeling, but suddenly the singing stopped abruptly. She felt as if someone had roused her from a beautiful dream. Still in a light trance, she looked at the Priestess, who held an intricate dagger in her raised hand.

"Now it's your turn, Akasha!" Magnus said, gently nudging her forward.

Together they moved toward the center of the pentagram. When the girl crossed its boundary, she had a very strange feeling, as if she were passing through an invisible wall. Then, together with Magnus, she knelt before the Priestess, who, rolling up the sleeves of their chasubles, cut their arms, collecting their blood into a chalice, saying,

"Lillith, this is the blood offering we will consume to increase your power and ours!"

Akasha watched Magnus from the corner of her eye, but his face was calm, his eyes completely expressionless. The girl felt the blood flowing from her body, but strangely, she felt no pain... The Priestess raised the chalice of blood held in both hands above them and froze.

"Let us bless the blood that is life and death, our desire and our satisfaction!

" "Let us bless the blood?" With that, everyone present raised their hands.

Then the Priestess brought the chalice to Magnus's lips. He slowly sipped from it, saying quietly, "Thus have I honored Lillith."

Now it was Akasha's turn. Terrified, she was about to rise from her knees when she felt a gentle touch. She looked at Magnus, but he wasn't looking at her, instead staring blankly at the Priestess. The Chalice approached her lips, and Akasha drank a small amount. In that instant, she felt the hot liquid flow into her and spread throughout her body. She closed her eyes, unfamiliar images flashing through them at an alarming pace. For a moment, the roar of her churning blood deafened her. She felt dizzy, but she didn't fall. Suddenly, she began to perceive her surroundings more clearly, and above all, she could sense the immense power Magnus possessed, and this gave her strength. She raised her eyes to the Priestess and took a deep breath to calm her racing thoughts.

"This is how I honored Lillith..." she whispered softly.

Then the Priestess removed the chalice from her lips and turned her back to them. Now each of those present slowly approached her and drank from the chalice filled to the brim with their blood. Rising from his knees, he whispered hurriedly, "This is how I honored Lillith." After a dozen or so minutes, everyone stood silently again in a large circle against the wall.

The gloomy Sanctuary, lit only by candlelight and a few torches, fell into a deathly silence. It was so silent that the girl could distinguish the individual breaths of those gathered in the temple. Meanwhile, the Priestess stood at the altar, spilling the remnants of the chalice's blood on it and whispering something softly and incomprehensibly.

After a moment, she raised her head and turned toward them, but without looking at them.

"Who we are makes us brothers and sisters. No one understands us as well as we do each other, and no one loves us with the kind of love we have for each other. Let us remember this, let us respect each other, and let us be loyal! Our fates depend on those we trust." "Let us not treat each other as enemies, but as friends," she said in a loud voice.

At that moment, to Akasha's surprise, everyone suddenly began hugging and kissing each other. Magnus also flinched, but he didn't hug her. He simply clasped his bloody hand around hers, reassuring her. The priestess, on the other hand, leaned toward her and kissed her briefly, but slowly, on the cheek. Akasha couldn't help but feel that her lips were icy cold, yet silky soft. She then did the same, leaning over Magnus. Then there was another moment of silence.

"In this joyful moment, let us think of our absent friends and remember their needs. I bless Khayman, who is a righteous and determined vampire. Khayman needs friendship and our care, for he has only been with us for a short time. It is our duty to help him. May he know love."

- Let him experience love? - those present repeated in chorus after the Priestess.

"I bless Jesse, thanks to whom we could welcome a new member of our Community here today. She has always been of assistance to us, and we should not forget that. But she is still too closely connected to the human world, so may she experience true freedom.

" "May she experience true freedom!

" "I bless Marius, for it was thanks to his power that we were able to begin meeting here. His energy and persistence made this holy place our Sanctuary. However, he too has his needs. He needs help; his health is weak, so we should support him with our strength. May he experience healing.

" "May he experience healing!" those present said simultaneously.

"There are also those who are enemies of our nature and our community, and toward them let us now direct our angry thoughts. Lillith will devour them, giving them the fear of a devoured animal.

I curse Enkil, who, being one of us, turned against his nature and began his existence as a Hunter and vanquisher of our race!"

"Lillith will devour him!" the Community shouted powerfully.

"I curse Gabrielle, whom we accepted into our ranks, and having learned our customs and rituals, she turned against us and did us much harm...

" "Lillith will devour her!"

There was a moment of silence. Askasha heard the Priestess gasp for air. She must have fallen into some kind of trance.

"Watch over us, Lillith, queen and mother of vampires!

" "Watch over us!" everyone gathered in the Sanctuary said in unison.

"Watch over us, Lillith, black priestess!

" "Watch over us.

" "Watch over us, Lillith, first lover of Adam!

" "Watch over us.

" "Watch over us, Lillith, who conquers by dominating and conquers by submitting!

" "Watch over us."

"Watch over us, Lillith, our blood love!" the Priestess exclaimed.

"Watch over us.

" "Watch over us, Lillith, the death of those who betray their nature!

" "Watch over us.

" "Watch over us, Lillith, our guide!

" "Watch over us.

" "Watch over us, Lillith, who brings dreams filled with delight!

" "Watch over us."

Now everyone began to sit down on the ground, but remained seated. Only Magnus and Akasha could step aside to tend to their wounds, which had stained the altar's base with blood.

"May Lillith's power, protection, and guidance accompany you always and everywhere, in rest and in hunting, in love and in battle!" the Priestess then said.

"May Lillith be your companion!

" "Great is Lillith!

" "Lillith!" those present exclaimed.

While the Priestess began to speak to the Community, Akasha was preoccupied with her wound.

"I'm dizzy," she moaned, wiping the blood from her arm with the sleeve of her chasuble.

Magnus quickly grabbed her wrist, pulling her to him.

"You can't waste blood, Akasha," he whispered before his mouth hungrily closed over her wound.