Bloods Gem

  Bloods Gem

  Title Page

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-one

  Chapter Thirty-two

  Chapter Thirty-three

  Chapter Thirty-four

  About the Author

  Blood’s Gem

  By Gloria Conway

  Smashwords Edition

  This is a work of fiction. Characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental or used fictitiously.

  All rights reserved

  Copyright © 2012 Gloria Conway

  No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher, except where permitted by law.

  Dedication

  To my boys—husband and son. I couldn't have done this without you.

  Acknowledgements

  I'd like to thank Eric Glenn for his work on the fabulous cover, Carla R. Herrera for her editing, though I didn't take most of the advice and Consuelo Parra for the cover image and Model: Amber Ornelas.

  Ill-suen

  The Ill-suen is a half-breed vampire and spiritual shape-shifter. The rare combination makes for a powerful creature unlike any other. Strength increases with age, wisdom, and life experience. They are known to be great tricksters and may take on human form when they reach the age of one-hundred. They have the ability to clone the appearance of an individual, and can shift into an individual’s body. Manifesting into dreams, creating elaborate illusions perceived as reality, mind control, flying and incredible speed are among their abilities. They also experience regular out of body episodes to communicate with their own kind across vast distances.

  Before the eighteenth year, abilities are limited to shape-shifting and mind control. Male Ill-suen reaches manhood in the eighteenth year of life, when they begin transformation.

  This is a painful and frightening process, as the entire body and mind breaks when the transformation begins. Their mind resets in order for their new abilities to set in. The bones in their body break and new ones are made. Making them stronger. Becoming thirsty and uncontrollable, they are held in isolation.

  If they live through the transformation, they are trained to control abilities and hunger. At their hundredth year, if they are able to retain human form and complete training, they are sent out into the world to find their 'gem'. Once found, they 'Unold' their gem. Bonding them forever, or until they express a death wish before conceiving.

  Many male Ill-suen are sterile. On occasion when a male Ill-suen mates, their gem will die in child birth along with the child, or miscarry. No one knows why such unfortunate circumstances surround these rare creatures, but those born and manage to live are considered valuable to their community.

  They are also on the brink of extinction from not only their limited ability to reproduce, but also being hunted regularly by the hunters also known as the shifters.

  The Ill-suen could not defeat hunters on their own. The Ill-suen took refuge with vampires and coexist. The vampires outnumbered the Ill-suen and therefore protect them from extinction against the hunters. They were always fond of the Ill-suens, as they too were an asset to them. They work well together and accepted each other as family. They also live among the human world to not only study them, but to live just like them, all the while becoming immune to their hunger for human blood.

  The Hunters aka Shifters

  Shifters are the ancient first born. They were on earth before the Ill-suen existed. Their appearance is identical to the younger Ill-suen before their transformation. They have fox like features. All of the shifters have blue eyes, long nails, and perky fox ears. Some change their appearance by shape shifting into their desired look. Their powers limited, not exceeding the Ill-suen in strength, but mentally transcend the Ill-suen. In a battle, the victor will always be the hunter, because their illusions and ability to break the mind are much more advanced than the Ill-suen. Not only do they confuse their enemy in battle, but they drive their enemy to insanity long enough to finish them off. On occasion, the Ill-suen will try to out trick the hunters by blocking their minds to anyone around them, however, the hunters can see their enemy before they advance, even if blocked. It is impossible to catch the hunters off guard. The older the shifter, the more advanced in ability.

  The “elite” shifters settle on their original land called, Gahaven, said to be located in central Peru. A large number of shifters built a city there. This is where they are trained to fight.

  Shifters speak an unknown tongue, called Ladish. Not even the Ill-suen can make sense of this language and it's difficult to decipher.

  Hunters don’t like anyone including humans. If outsiders come into their territory they are immediately killed, unless they have useful information about the shifter enemy. Hunters believe they are the true inhabitants of earth and everyone else on earth are invaders. Therefore, they are justified in taking a life.

  In recent years, shifters have had a rare sickness affecting some of its people. Usually taking out a large number at once. They believe it’s their creator displeased with them in some way. So once a month, they sacrifice either an Ill-suen, or a human in repentance. However, since the first sacrifice, nothing has changed. Their hearts have become cold and their minds tainted by an unseen evil. But still, they will not change.

  Unolding

  The unolding process takes place when the Ill-suen finds his gem. This process occurs so that the Ill-suen can protect himself and his gem. The Ill-suen’s spirit leaps into the gem and embraces the gems spirit, leaving a part of his spirit with hers. Their spirits intertwine creating a bond that last’s forever. After the unolding is complete, they are then able to communicate fully through their minds and fully read each others thoughts. They become stronger mentally and physically and together are a stronger force.

  Gem

  For every male Ill-suen born, a “gem” born. The gem is the person whom they will take as their mate. For some, it can take a long time to find their gem so they seek them out before the gem grows too old or dies. If the gem dies before being unold, the Ill-suen dies too. If the gem dies after their infant Ill-suen’s born, the Ill-suen male will not die, because the bond is transferred to the child when the gem dies.

  When the Ill-suen gets closer to finding his gem, she begins to acquire powers. These powers can be a verity of things from mind reading to being able to see the future. No one knows what the powers will be except the gem herself as she gains them.

  The quest to the gem to most is very long; the Ill-suen will travel the world to find her by letting his instincts be his guide. He knows when his gem is cl
ose when he becomes weak, thirsty and unable to control his natural instincts for blood.

  Chapter One

  Bloods Gem: The Beginning

  Hundreds of years before the first Ill-suen were born, a tragedy brewed in the villages of the Fastine people. The Fastine were shape-shifting spiritual beings with the power of illusion.

  Ahbu, the king of the western village was possessed by a terrible evil. Ruling his people for hundreds of years his powers surpassed most in the surrounding villages. His training to become a leader began at three years old. Fortunately, leaders fall. And when they fall, they fall head first.

  One night a prophet came to see the king. The seer said he saw Ahbu ruling all the people in and out of the nation. If the king did not take charge, another would rise to take his place as leader who would rule all the people.

  Ahbu dreamed of ruling everyone. His greed for power caused people to notice. Instead of praising workers, he criticized. Instead of walking through the village, he was carried. Rather than give his people a great leader, he inspired resentment.

  Ahbu ruled all the villages of the nation with an iron fist. Every village he came upon, he demanded they kneel and worship him as a new god. Most villages resisted, so in a rage he gathered them one by one, women children and men and burned them together. Though some cried in fear, others felt helpless, so they bore his mark.

  The symbol of a pitchfork burned into their hands was the only way for the helpless to survive, but designated them as followers of Ahbu. Unknowingly, this also marked them for death.

  Ahbu and his followers returned through the villages to insure there were no survivors. But they stumbled upon a girl, whose eyes were like fire, her body charred, but still alive. Enraged to see the sight of this girl standing, Ahbu went to strike her down with his pitch fork and with one look he turned to ash. His followers went after the girl and one by one they too followed him in death. As she turned the last follower to ash, she rose into the air as a radiant light shone from above. A voice broke through the light telling her her destiny was as the butterfly woman.

  Her wings glistened with purple, fading into pink and yellow as they grew. Her charred body healed, her skin transformed into a pale pink that sparkled as the light reflected upon it. Her beautiful long dark hair caressed the front of her body as she rose into the sky.

  She flew over the land crying at the charred bodies of her people. Her tears fell below producing gems all colors imaginable. As the gems dropped they shattered into millions of pieces, drawing out the souls of the dead. The souls returned to their new bodies that were created for them, creating a new generation of spiritual shape-shifters. They were called, “The blessed ones” because to the end, they stayed true, denying evil before them and maintaining faith in their god, until their last breath.

  Those saved saw the butterfly woman and witnessed her power. The last soul restored, she smiled down upon them, and disappeared.

  The Blessed Ones created a book about the events that took place at that time. They told of her features and the mark the woman bore. As she turned to leave, some saw she wore the mark of a butterfly on her lower back. They believed she would one day return, but only in their greatest time of need. They would watch and wait for that moment to see the butterfly woman once again.

  Chapter Two

  Demons of the night

  December 1920 Eastern Europe

  Dr. Luke Syphron and his mistress, Mary Sue McKay, a volunteer nurse at St. Andrews Hospital decided to take a midnight stroll. They turned East on Loops End to head to the nearest inn.

  It was a dark night and they did not see the man until he appeared in front of them, barring their path. Paralyzed with fear, neither moved. The man held up his hand, gesturing for Mary to come to him. As if a spell had been placed upon her, the nurse went to him.

  Realizing the danger, his mistress was in, Luke leaped forward, immediately regretting it. The man dug his teeth into the woman’s neck, dropped her, smiled at Dr. Luke and disappeared.

  At the hospital but was unable to talk, the doctor pointed the nurses in the direction where Mary Ann’s body lay on the ground, drained. Several days passed before the Doctor was able to write what happened to Mary Ann, only to be met with disbelief. He was assigned his own private room at the St. Andrews Insane Asylum. But then it happened again.

  January, 1928 Eastern Europe-

  Struggling with her jacket, Edith put the handle of her bag in her mouth, freeing a hand so she could pull her arm through into the sorely missed warmth. She told her cat Gracie goodbye and ran to her motor car, in a hurry to make it to dinner on time at the Cisco.

  The restaurant had opened two weeks prior and locals were sure to wait as long as it took to get a seat. Sometimes there would be a line outside for hours. Gwen and Rudy would save her a place in line, but she wouldn’t rule out the possibility of hostile costumers trying to take the spot.

  Already late and in an effort to shave a few minutes from the drive, Edith took back roads to East Main and Tiny--a much shorter route. Though she was new to driving, she enjoyed the independence and felt confident in her abilities. She grinned at the harsh looks she received, knowing some people resented female drivers without a male chaperone.

  Turning left on Cherry, she proceeded to Court Way. She drove into darkness. No street lamps lit this path. Her heart quickened and she slowed for fear of running into something. The headlights cut a narrow path through the dark and if anything came from the side, she would not see it until it was too late. Peering into the darkness, she scanned for any sign of movement, passing what appeared to be a garbage receptacle, and saw a light about a quarter mile ahead. She accelerated, anxious to get to safety.

  Hearing a thump, she continued on, not wanting to stop. Something on the roof of the car sounded as if it crawled along the top. Heart racing, she accelerated. “Come, on… come on,” she whispered under her breath hoping she would soon see city lights.

  The car had become still. She hurried to touch the keys that were still in the ignition but they were already to the on position. Motor was still running, she stepped on the gas, but the wheels spun ineffectually.

  Slamming her hand into the steering wheel, she felt an icy hand atop her own. Startled by a man sitting next to her, she felt rooted to the spot. His hand moved to her cheek. “Do not fear me lady. I’m here to help.”

  A shiver passed through her. Her voice shook, as she carefully removed her hand from under his. “Where did you come from… w--w--why are you h--h--here?”

  “I would like you to do something for me. I’m not here to harm you. Will you do as I say?” Reluctant, she nodded.

  “It is a pleasure speaking with someone like you this way.” He paused, smiled at her. “You shall tell the people, darkness is upon them. They must lock away their children, wives and mothers. Tonight is the beginning of a dark time.

  “They must keep us out, or we will find a way in.”

  Looking into his eyes, Edith was unafraid. The man had a power over her. He offered his hand and she leaned in close, cheek in his palm. He leaned in closer. His cold breath sent chills through her and she felt subject to his will.

  “I do not want to put you through this. A lady like you. Fragile, alone, helpless… Your people have no chance against us. Tell them to stay hidden at night. We cannot come into homes in which we are not invited. If we knock, do not open the door. If we tap on the window, do not look. If you do, you will be compelled to let us in, and you will die.”

  Snapping his fingers brought Edith out of her daze. Staring at the man, she nodded understanding. Then he was gone.

  At the restaurant, she told her friends everything that had happened. She told them to spread the word. Some listened, some did not. As weeks came and went, bodies appeared in the streets drained of blood. Hysteria gripped the populace and curfews came earlier. Mothers locked up their children. Husbands stayed with their wives at night with the doors locked. No one answered their doo
rs, or peeked out their windows after sunset. The deaths occurred a few times a week but fewer people went out after dark. After two years three months and twelve days, the night demons left Eastern Europe alone.

  Chapter Three

  A New Life

  In the late 1700’s a man named Ruben lived in a quiet southern town called Hidesville. An agricultural area populated with farmers and livestock. Not much went on except trades and the occasional drifter looking for a handout. Ruben worked on his father's farm, helping with cattle, feedings, collecting eggs from the chickens. He did not get away from the farm often and grew restless as his twenty-third birthday approached. Still, he had not met his future wife. His father would press the issue of marrying his second cousin Betty but he was not yet so desperate that he would procreate with family members. He decided to wait until the farmer's dance to try his luck with a local farmer’s daughters.

  Ruben woke early with the call of the rooster. He rose from his warm bed, slipped on his house shoes and stumbled to his dresser, He looked up where the mirror hung and stared at himself for a while, admiring his dark blue eyes and curly brown hair, wondering why he was still single.

  Ruben helped his mother with chores and waited for his father to return from the sale barn.

  Deciding to read a book as he awaited his father’s arrival, he opened the dusty cover of the Night’s Owl and began reading. He woke, jumped from the chair, his book falling to the floor and looked out the darkened window.