NOVEL NEXT Chapter 57: Chapter 57 - The Changes Brought By Variance
February 7th, 2005 – Monday
Just After Midnight
After Sam's initial outburst and coming to terms with the fact that he had trespassed onto Cullen Lands, he quickly calmed down knowing no one had taken offense to his sudden appearance.
And Xavier further convinced The Alpha to take a bath before he returned to Emily, lest she be exposed to the same Vampiric Blood that had made him so sick.
Sam knew exposure to vampiric variants had improved his abilities as an Alpha Shapeshifter by a significant margin but he was uncertain how such variations would affect others of the pact.
Thus, they talked… they discussed…
The cool, crystal-clear water of the creek flowed gently past the three naked figures of Kaulder - The Last Witch Hunter, Xavier Ikaris Aionios - The Prime Eternal of Earth, and Sam Uley – Alpha of The Quileute Pack.
Jasper and Emmet were perched atop a tree next to the creek – they didn't want to drift too close to Sam's stink, something they made painfully obvious by scrunching their nose.
However, this was a good result.
Xavier was comfortable around Emmett, which was strange considering the large vampire was, perhaps, the most volatile in The Olympic Coven.
Jasper gave the impression of a cracking dam but Emmett, so cool and fun, wouldn't indicate burning before he lounged for your neck.
Xavier knew this… but he still preferred Emmett to the other Cullens.
"Pass me the soap," Kaulder voiced.
With a sigh, Xavier extended a hand toward the soap on the shore, and with more effort than it was worth, The Eternal levitated the soap into his hand.
Then, he tossed it to Kaulder.
The Last Witch Hunter nodded in thanks…
"Xavier, can you—"
"You're a shapeshifter," Xavier rolled his eyes, turning to Sam. "Just transform into a wolf and shake the water off. Why would you need a towel?"
Sam's question stopped in his throat.
Despite their time together, facing what should have been certain death, Sam didn't feel much closer to Xavier than he had been when they departed.
Maybe, it was because their relationship was one of mutual restraint.
Still, even with his recent growth in strength, Sam suspected that he was no longer Xavier's equal, not in the strategic ways that could make a difference in battle.
Kaulder, Xavier, and Sam washed off the grime, sweat, and blood stains of their recent battle.
"That must have been an intense battle you guys fought," Emmett voiced, eyes searching for information.
When Sam nor Kaulder graced Emmett with an answer, The Eternal could only sigh and bite the bullet.
"It was… interesting?" Xavier wasn't sure how to explain to Emmett that he could only see a small portion of the actual world. "Let's just say the world is better off for now than it was three days ago."
Emmett slowly nodded. "I saw the news," He muttered. "They say it was caused by a natural disaster."
"It would have been heaven for you bloodsuckers," Sam grunted, angry at the mere thought of the atrocities he had witnessed. "Blood enough for a lifetime."
Jasper and Emmett started to growl in unison.
Kaulder paused washing his hair, dipping his hand beneath the water.
Xavier knew The Witch Hunter could summon Hexenbane into his hands with a thought.
Perhaps, Kaulder always had the ability but kept it close to his chest… it was hard to believe that hunting witches and possessing The Witch Queen's heart in his chest left Kaulder without any magic to call his own.
"I will speak to Carlisle and the rest of your coven in a few," Xavier interrupted whatever scathing reply Emmett was conjuring up. "We didn't mean to come here. It was the only choice given the circumstances."
"What circumstances?" Jasper's eyes narrowed.
"In case we brought something with us," Kaulder replied, finally figuring out Xavier's purpose for thrusting them in front of what could be enemies of humanity.
It was not a decision made recklessly.
Had something followed them through the portal, The Cullens could aid them in dealing with it, and as an added benefit, Alice would have known Xavier was coming the moment he made the decision.
"I don't like the trouble you bring to Alice," Jasper stated.
"Even if I didn't interact with your family," Xavier rolled his eyes. "—trouble would always find you guys because of Alice's and Edward's abilities."
Their showering continued…
As soon as they were clean, Kaulder and Sam shifted into a more relaxed floating.
Xavier knew what conversation would come next.
Sam was the first to ask. "What happened to me over there?" He clenched his fist, not feeling physically different but knowing he was nonetheless. "I heal faster with no intervention, my body grows hotter on will and I am talking about scalding heat… and, I can increase and decrease the size of my wolf form."
Xavier knew he had all the answers because, on the battlefield, he also remembered some things… first and foremost being, that he was Xavier and Ikaris.
Xavier had always been his name, with Ikaris being The Title he obtained from fighting THE SUN.
"You were exposed directly to Amelia – Vampire Elder of The Corvinus Vampire Variant, Julius Caesar – Primordial Vampire of The Cursed Demon Variant, and Philippe De Clermont – De Clermont Patriarch and Vampire of The Fangless Variant."
"What?" Sam was confused and astonished.
He had no idea there were so many vampire variants on the battlefield; Sam had thought, at most, that all of the vampires belonged to the same tribe.
"Blade came late so you weren't exposed too much to him," Xavier continued to explain. "—or we would have seen something else change."
"And they changed me?" Sam questioned.
"Not exactly," The Eternal narrowed his words, giving an exact statement. "You are from a clan of Shapeshifters. The Supernatural world is dangerous – things don't survive for long in that world without being powerful. If all your family could do was transform into slightly larger wolves, then you would be dead."
"So, we can do more?" Sam inquired.
"You did more," Kaulder interrupted, searching his memories over the last century and a half. "Around a century ago, I came to this land, Forks, to cull a tribe of Spirit Witches. They were dabbling in dark magic."
"Quileutes?" Xavier frowned.
Kaulder nodded. "Quileutes," He continued. "But they were not dabbling in dark magic. Actually, their spirit magic was pure… too pure. It attracted dark magic like a moth to a flame."
Sam's eyes widened, recalling stories he heard from his great-grandmother as a child… stories about the great spirit magic that had been sealed for survival's sake.
"Dark magic like moths to a flame," Xavier narrowed his eyes, guessing the rest of the story. "—light doesn't only attract moths. What happens when something larger than a moth comes?"
"That's exactly what happened," Kaulder chuckled. "In the end, it took fifty powerful witches of The Quileute bloodline to seal their bloodline, all of whom died with the magical knowledge in their minds. Safe to say, they ensured a future for their children at the cost of their lives."
"But you never encountered the shapeshifters?" Xavier pondered.
"I think The VEIL hid The Shapeshifters from me," Kaulder shrugged. "After all, I am a Witch Hunter. Shapeshifters possess a magical bloodline but not one that comes from The Witch Queen. I would feel it if it did."
"So, our witch bloodline is sealed," Sam had trouble tracking the conversation due to all the supernatural logic involved. "What does that have to do with what is happening to me now?"
"Bloodlines thin as time passes, it is a natural part of nature," Kaulder explained. "Your bloodline is reverting to what it once was, perhaps, five hundred years ago?"
"From what I have seen, you don't heal faster," Xavier had been observing all of Sam's changes – after all, that was his sole reason for bringing The Shapeshifter along. "Your blood is more condensed, meeting is clots faster. I think you got that ability from interacting with Philippe – his variant of vampires can only die when all their blood is drained, so they have adapted to have twice as much blood as humanly possible in their bodies."
Sam, not taking Xavier's word for it, bit his fingertip and watched in astonishment as the blood clotted in three seconds, and then healed completely over the next minute.
"Your body absorbs and re-emits UVA rays as heat," The Eternal explained, trying not to think about how he could know so much about Sam's changes – knowing who he was and directly confronting those memories were separate matters. "UVA rays emitted from your body are mildly destructive to vampires like Amelia – they are sensitive to the sun. So, even without transforming, with enough exposure, Corvinus Vampires will weaken and eventually die in your presence… if you heat your body, of course."
"You say that as if killing vampires is bad…" Sam muttered.
Kaulder raised a brow. "That's what Hitler said about The Jews," He interrupted, staring at Sam with clear denouncement. "I should know; I talked to Hitler when he was a child."
"And you didn't kill him?" Emmett muttered.
It was a notion everyone shared, especially The Eternal since, like Kaulder, he had also met Hitler, but unlike Kaulder, Xavier knew the destruction such a small child would have brought.
"If I started killing children I suspected of being future monsters, I would have become a boot on the neck of commoners long ago," Kaulder paused and stared up at the stars. "The thing with being an immortal is – you can't compromise with yourself, or you always will."
Xavier knew as much…
Without his memories, The Eternal could be willfully naïve but with his memories returning one trickling trauma at a time, Xavier knew that a vampire that killed before would indiscriminately kill again.
Someday, he would have to deal with Alice, Esme, Rosalie, Emmett, and especially Jasper.
Perhaps, only Edward had what it took to transcend his vampirism, and of course, Carlisle had never killed a human.
"You said I gained more blood which leads to better healing from Philippe, I gained heat-powers from Amelia, and what about Julius Caesar?" Sam questioned.
"Is he the real Julius Caesar?" Emmett quickly tossed that question out there.
Kaulder and Xavier shrugged… they suspected Caligula was indeed the real Julius Caesar but he could have been someone even more ancient.
Xavier and Kaulder knew first hand, identities to Immortals were as clothes were to humans – they changed identities by the decades, and judging by the decades lived, finding truth would be nigh impossible.
"You gained the ability to grow in size from The Demon Variant Vampire," The Eternal chimed in, seeing Sam was getting frustrated that his questions were not being answered. "A Demon is a huge thing but it hides behind a human skin… kind of like Shapeshifters. Understand?"
Sam slowly nodded. "And my family?"
That was what troubled Xavier – he could not predict what effect Sam's changes would have on his bond with the pact, on his psychic imprint on Emily.
Still, if there was anything Xavier had learned after a long, eventful life, it was the fact that 'when in doubt', bluff your ass off.
"Everything will be fine," The Eternal placed a hand on Sam's tensed shoulders. "Trust me. Just… maybe bring her to the mansion for a checkup."
Now, Xavier also remembered the mansion was not a simple mansion – something he should have noticed long ago when he found Asgardian Wine in the underground cellar.
"I would like to see your family," Kaulder voiced, sinking beneath the water for a moment to wash his body clean.
Sam was immediately on alert.
"I won't harm your family," Kaulder interrupted such thoughts. "I want to see about unsealing your Spirit Magic. It may be of use in the future. After all, if more monsters like Lagus Tradio show up, we might not be able to win."
"But we did win," Sam frowned.
Xavier shook his head. "We survived," He corrected. "Lagus Tradio was a Noble on his deathbed and weakened further by manifested in some corrupt way. We should count ourselves lucky."
"Luck I would not like to repeat," Kaulder voiced, walking onto the shore with his naked glory as he slipped back into his clothes. "You ready, Shapeshifter?"
Sam sighed, and looked at Xavier for good measure as if to ask 'You will help me if anything goes wrong, right?'
Xavier, without an ounce of aiding Sam, nodded with such fervent loyalty that even Jasper, capable of perceiving emotions, would have been tricked if he did not note The Eternal's indifference.
Just like that Sam and Kaulder departed The Cullen's residence, leaving Xavier, Jasper, and Emmett behind.
"So, Xavier…" Emmett wore a crooked smile, clearly excited to ask something he had been withholding for a long time. "How does it feel flying around like Superman?"
Ikaris grinned, his youthful features lighting up. "You make an effort to jump, right?"
Emmett nodded.
"That is what it feels like for me to walk," Xavier revealed. "Flying, floating really, is natural to me… walking is like jumping over and over again."
And that was the truth.
Xavier could only re-discover that truth because he had to learn how to walk over his first couple of weeks in Forks – back then, he would float just about everywhere without realizing it.